What is DRM? Digital Rights Management? As it pertains to my channel and the advice I give to self-publishing authors, this refers to how a creator or author can limit access to their digital creations. So if there is DRM for graphic designers or musicians – cool. No clue what your platforms are. Okay. For Self-publishing authors, we see this question about DRM come up when we upload our EBOOKS to Amazon KDP and other platforms. I can’t recall off hand if I’ve seen this with Audiobook uploads. But it really pertains to eBooks.

So, Digital Rights Management – DRM can allow authors to limit how readers interact with their eBooks.

How does this work? Let’s think for a second about a paperback book. I can buy it from Amazon.com. I read it. I LOVE IT!!! I rush to my bestie and literally put it in their hands. With print books, readers can lend them to others.
With Kindle, readers have historically been able to do the same with eBooks. I bought the eBook for $1.99. I loved it. I can share it with a friend and loan it to them. What readers also have been able to do was download the ePub file and then read the eBook on their tablet, their Kobo device, outside of the Kindle ecosystem.
Those are the innocent use cases.
You can also see how some people would take that and then upload the book to a pirate website. Or use it to train a LLM (regardless of what the author has on their copyright page prohibiting that). Or scrape it to make an AI audiobook. The ways to manipulate ePub files has only grown.

When you apply DRM to your eBook, the reader DOES NOT have the option to download the file. They can only read it on their Kindle device or linked kindle apps.

I have always had DRM enabled for my books. There are big organizations for indie authors who have always advocated to be DRM-free. Give the readers what they want, don’t punish the good readers because there might be some bad apples. I knowingly went against that advice and applied DRM to my books.

There is no royalty difference in electing DRM or DRM-free.

In November/December 2025, Amazon KDP announced an update to its DRM policies. And said now anyone who is DRM-free , so no DRM applied – their books would be available to download as ePub OR PDF. Books can be read across any eReader the customer wants.

With this policy change, Amazon KDP sent out emails letting authors know they can change existing DRM settings. I hate the way they worded it, to me it sounded very confusing to the point I think people who now want DRM applied are going to pick the opposite. Also, maybe it is just awkward wording, because: Do you want to be DRM- free? No. It’s a weird double negative to me.

Either apply DRM so my eBook file cannot be downloaded by users
Or Do not apply DRM / DRM- Free

Now, if I am putting back on my tin foil hat ike I did in the video about KU eBooks now being available in libraries…
Last fall Baker & Taylor, which was the biggest distributor to libraries, shuttered.
Now, KU eBooks can be in libraries
Now KDP eBooks can be downloaded and read across any ereader, not just Kindle.
I see the chess pieces moving for Amazon to make a move into this distribution space. I really hope I get this recorded and edited before that news breaks

https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/GDDXGH9VR22ACM8U
https://kindlepreneur.com/amazon-drm-epub-downloads/

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