Stephen King
Digital Publishing Pioneer

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The idea is so outlandish, it can only be science fiction: a writer posts his work on the Web, and people actually pay for it — some even pay more than they're asked! This plot comes courtesy of horror master Stephen King, but it is not fiction. In August, King posted the first 6,000 words of his new novel, The Plant. He asked readers for $1 (processed by Amazon) and pledged that as long as 75% of those who downloaded it paid for it, he would put up the next installment. More than 100,000 people grabbed the story the first day, and some paid $10 or $20 to make up for the freeloaders.

The Plant (along with King's earlier e-book, Riding the Bullet) has proved that people are ready to pay for entertainment online. King found the magic formula — a quality product, a loyal following and an easy payment system. Publishers, record companies and movie studios — spooked by the Napster free-for-all — are taking notice. Next year more of them than ever will be trying to get you to pay for digital downloads of text, music and pictures.

Already, Contentville.com has set up a clearinghouse, offering articles by famous and not-so-famous writers for a few dollars each. Emusic and Sony Music are offering subscriptions, promising unlimited downloads for a monthly fee. America Online may start charging "micropayments," adding a few cents to your monthly bill every time you download a song or movie. By 2004, digital music sales are expected to reach $1 billion, and e-books could reach $2 billion in 2005. But while the best digital music files approach CD quality, e-books and streaming video simply can't yet match the quality of a traditional book or movie. No wonder King is publishing his memoir the old-fashioned way: on paper.

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PHOTO-ILLUSTRATION FOR TIME DIGITAL BY WILLIAM DUKE (inset)

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