Book publishers will have more control over digital book prices after a push-back by major publishers against Amazon recently. Pundits see the Apple iPad as the catalyst to the movement.
Business Week has the background.
Amazon.com Inc., the world’s largest Internet retailer, will have to give publishers more control over the prices of digital books to match an agreement forged with Macmillan, according to the Authors Guild.
After saying that Macmillan could set prices for Kindle versions of its electronic books, Amazon.com set the stage for the other five biggest publishers to negotiate new terms, including getting a higher cut of the retail price, said Paul Aiken, executive director of the guild.
Amazon.com, which offers best-selling e-books for $9.99, said this week that Macmillan could sell its titles for as much as $14.99. Amazon.com has sought to keep prices of digital books low to maintain the popularity of the Kindle. The concession shows a “chink in Amazon’s armor” and may make the Kindle more vulnerable to competitors, according to Collins Stewart LLC. Amazon.com shares dropped 5.2 percent yesterday.
“There are at least five other publishers who can get this deal from Amazon,” said Aiken, whose New York-based group advocates on behalf of writers. “The other publishers are going to follow suit. It would be irresponsible for them not to.”
ZDNet looks at how the Apple iPad may have changed the digital print industry even before it hits the shelves.
Apple’s agency model and its iBookstore have upset the applecart at Amazon, who sells books via a more traditional “wholesale model” where the it sets the price and gives the publisher a commission. In a previous post I described the benefits of the “agency model” that Apple uses with App developers. In essence, the developer sets the price and Apple collects a flat 30 percent off the top
In the days following the iPad announcement, print publishers have begun bailing from Amazon in droves. Hachette’s Book Group is now the third major publisher, following MacMillan and HarperCollins, to push for the agency model.
Gizmodo reports that the move could mean the end of the $9.99 book. The conventional wisdom is that publishers will set the ebook prices first proposed by Apple—from $12.99 to $14.99. I suspect that Penguin and Simon & Schuster will follow suit and that Amazon will be forced to migrate to the agency model and match Apple pricing.
Apple’s iPad has already begun shifting the dynamics of print publishing, putting price control back into the hands of publishers—and its not shipping for two months.
Source : Before Its News
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Business Week has the background.
Amazon.com Inc., the world’s largest Internet retailer, will have to give publishers more control over the prices of digital books to match an agreement forged with Macmillan, according to the Authors Guild.
After saying that Macmillan could set prices for Kindle versions of its electronic books, Amazon.com set the stage for the other five biggest publishers to negotiate new terms, including getting a higher cut of the retail price, said Paul Aiken, executive director of the guild.
Amazon.com, which offers best-selling e-books for $9.99, said this week that Macmillan could sell its titles for as much as $14.99. Amazon.com has sought to keep prices of digital books low to maintain the popularity of the Kindle. The concession shows a “chink in Amazon’s armor” and may make the Kindle more vulnerable to competitors, according to Collins Stewart LLC. Amazon.com shares dropped 5.2 percent yesterday.
“There are at least five other publishers who can get this deal from Amazon,” said Aiken, whose New York-based group advocates on behalf of writers. “The other publishers are going to follow suit. It would be irresponsible for them not to.”
ZDNet looks at how the Apple iPad may have changed the digital print industry even before it hits the shelves.
Apple’s agency model and its iBookstore have upset the applecart at Amazon, who sells books via a more traditional “wholesale model” where the it sets the price and gives the publisher a commission. In a previous post I described the benefits of the “agency model” that Apple uses with App developers. In essence, the developer sets the price and Apple collects a flat 30 percent off the top
In the days following the iPad announcement, print publishers have begun bailing from Amazon in droves. Hachette’s Book Group is now the third major publisher, following MacMillan and HarperCollins, to push for the agency model.
Gizmodo reports that the move could mean the end of the $9.99 book. The conventional wisdom is that publishers will set the ebook prices first proposed by Apple—from $12.99 to $14.99. I suspect that Penguin and Simon & Schuster will follow suit and that Amazon will be forced to migrate to the agency model and match Apple pricing.
Apple’s iPad has already begun shifting the dynamics of print publishing, putting price control back into the hands of publishers—and its not shipping for two months.
Source : Before Its News
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