I remember last time someone linked to something similar, but they had DRM and draconian payment methods (no paypal etc).
If memory serves me well that team is ex-Boxee.
I say more power to the comedians. Submit to no one, share with no one. I wish writers could do the same.
And, while a lot of people write pretty good books, there is also material that is ... uh... not so great. And it gets in without problems.
So, yes, Amazon certainly has the power to keep books out, but so far really hasn't utilized it nearly as much as they could.
Wouldn't have a sexy landing page. But would also save ~ $200k (how much Loius CK said he payed for his website).
So you shoulnd't need to create artificial blocks to try to stop people from pirating. I mean, look at the humble bundle, you can just click that you don't want to pay for and download the games. But people pay anyway and they make millions off it. So why would you create artificial blocks that pisses people off?
He explains this here: https://buy.louisck.net/news
There's no requirement for a writer to submit content to Apple (iTunes store) or Amazon (Kindle store). A writer can format documents in .mobi, .epub and .pdf files and sell them through any digital storefront (either home brewed or something like leanpub among many others)
If a writer wants the exposure from being on the Kindle Store or iTunes Store, that's another matter. But there's no requirement that a writer sign up for such a distributor.
Maybe I wasn't clear. Sure, any writer can set up a site, but then you cannot give buyers the convenience they expect with automagic downloads to a Kindle, Nook, or Kobo device. (I exclude iPad. Apple made competing eBook apps download via browser. Which is not something eInk devices can do.)
Ah, thank you, sincerely. I hadn't considered that.
And I agree, Youtube is missing big opportunities with this sort of stuff.