So when we tried to do download codes for the Kristin Hersh 'Crooked' art book the issue was that the plant couldn't actually insert things into the book before shrink-wrapping. Probably a low hurdle to overcome, but our lame quick-fix was to do the "first word on page x, last word on page y" as a password to get all the download content. But the situation was a little different. I like Erin's idea of the code on a receipt (a lot) but worry it would give control to the retail chains, not to the publisher or author...

Which of course begs the question of why Amazon doesn't already do this. The new Iain M. Banks Culture novel is coming out in the US in October, and it's listed as US$14.40 for the hardcover and $12.99 for the Kindle. I would pay $20 in a heartbeat for access to both.

yeah anything online would be easy as hell to set up. instant download with your order!

Jesse and Maggie: you made the actual code part pretty simple for The Believer's music issue. I had a lot of worries about people getting codes out of the magazines on the newstands and invalidating them for the actual buyer.

This would all be easier with direct sales, but retail purchases have a lot of uncertain logistics.

A good system would need a customer database and a record of what they'd purchased, so they could re-download later.

Yeah that's definitely an issue. We've worked with the idea of giving downloads with any order, any item — so you could always do downloads with direct orders of physical. We're also finalizing dynamic lists...so you could (for example) have a download keyed to people who have purchased x, y, or z. All solid concepts, but it only works direct. I still really love the physical download coupon/slip whatever — it encourages people to shop at events, local stores, or even news-stands in the case of magazines/books. But I can understand the concern of folks just swiping the code...

A simple option would be the way record stores do "value-adds" - upon checkout, a coupon is given to the customer buying a book. This wouldn't require the tech of a printed receipt, but human fallibility would come into place, and if it became industry standard, the process of handing out the codes might be too much for even big stores to handle.

A more complex option wd be stickering the book with a peelable sticker that has the d/l code printed on the obverse, so the sticker has to be peeled off to get the code. This wouldn't be a failsafe, since people could just swipe the sticker, but making the code-theft physical would be a deterrent, & the buyer would know if their code had been taken & could get a new one at the register. Tricky!

Per the above, it does seem crazy that Amazon doesn't offer the digital+physical option for mailorders since it would be turnkey for them, but I wonder if that's relevant to their deals with publishers, and publishers' contracts with authors? One reason there was initial hesitation to offer album downloads w/ LP purchase is some song publishers claimed they would have to be paid double royalties, once for each format. Since the code is considered a promotional giveaway, that argument eventually fell out of favor (it delayed many labels from making the offer), but I wonder if "package deal" for both download and physical book is simply not feasible within the current standard structure for artist deals?

mhpbooks.com

That Melville House post points to a few interesting things, but the one that most struck me was the emphasis on contract structures.

I'd dearly love to see someone like Melville sort this out with Shopify in a way that's friendly to small publishers and indie retailers.

Agreed! Logistics aside, it seems like something that must be taken into account in future contracts, because surely it's inevitable? (Minor fact-check quibble w/ source quoted in article: it is not technically a copyright violation for someone to rip a CD onto her iPod - the right of "first purchase" gives the buyer freedom to make unlimited copies for personal use.)

That post on Melville is interesting – I'd read somewhere that a large hurdle was that authors / publishers had signed away digital rights for many years, but the question of whether authors get a cut of the digital sale (if the bundle is more expensive, they should, methinks) is something I hadn't thought about.

It's crazy one can't get bundled Kindle + physical books at Amazon, even if at slight markup. Must be a legal hurdle with the publishing houses — who are _also_ losing money by not tapping into an extra revenue stream.

Peelable stickers etc. are a thing of the past and have many problems; bundled physical+digital purchases at online retailers do not.