Let me start with the obligatory assurance that I’m no fan of DRM technologies. That’s why I use (illegal) tools to break it if I want to buy an ebook from another retailer and read it on my Kindle(s AMZN). Yet I disagree with author and BoingBoing co-editor Cory Doctorow’s argument that DRM plays a big role in the ongoing dispute between Amazon and book publisher Hachette.
In a column in the Guardian Friday, Doctorow wrote that “because Hachette has been such a staunch advocate of DRM,” it hasn’t been able to take advantage of “a whole range of tactics” that would be available to it if it dropped DRM:
“Amazon’s ebook major competitors – especially Apple and Google – have lots of market clout, and their customers are already carrying around ebook readers (tablets and phones). Hachette could easily play hardball with Amazon by taking out an ad campaign whose message…
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The link below is to an article that takes a look at the integration of Audible in the Kindle Reader apps.
For more visit:
http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/read-listen-amazon-integrates-audible-kindle-reader-apps/
In Amazon and Hachette’s ongoing battle over a new contract, Amazon has received most of the blame — and that’s probably not surprising since it’s the party cutting off pre-orders, messing with search and shipping Hachette books with multiweek delays. Authors, in particular, have come out on Hachette’s side — John Green, J. K. Rowling, James Patterson and Malcolm Gladwell (who shall henceforth be known as Explaino the Clown). So nobody’s on Amazon’s side, right?
Well, actually… To every backlash there is a counter-backlash, and in recent days some pro-Amazon sentiment has trickled out — or if it’s not fully pro-Amazon, exactly, it’s at least … conflicted. So who’s saying what? Here are the general themes:
Amazon isn’t the monopoly we have to worry about, Hugh Howey, the author of the bestselling self-published Wool trilogy (which Simon &…
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It’s been a week since it became clear that Amazon(s AMZN) is delaying shipments of publisher Hachette’s print titles, likely due to a fight over terms. As Amazon continues to ship many Hachette print titles with delays of two weeks or more, the story is picking up momentum and more authors are criticizing the retailer’s actions.
In addition to the shipping delays, Amazon is using other tactics to pressure Hachette. For example, it’s offering shoppers lower discounts on Hachette titles and in some cases is suggesting “similar items at a lower price.”
The New York Times’ David Streitfeld suggested Friday that “Amazon wants to have it both ways, telling customers it has the book while discouraging them from buying it.” In other words, shoppers who Google Hachette titles likely see an Amazon product page as their first result, then click through and find they won’t get the book any…
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Over the past few years, I’ve encountered countless startups that claim they are going to disrupt or revolutionize book publishing.
I once thought we might see one of those take off. Today, I’m not so sure. Book-related startups face a particularly tough path forward. Here are a few reasons why.
Any company that comes along trying to reinvent book publishing is competing not only with traditional book publishers but also with Amazon(s AMZN), which is almost 20 years old but keeps finding new ways to shake things up. Print book buying continues to move online and Amazon, which is now delivering on Sundays and offering same-day delivery in a growing number of cities, has a lock on that business. Kindle, launched in 2007, is the dominant ebook reading platform and Amazon is continually rolling out improvements to the Kindle…
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The link below is to an article that looks at why booksellers are closing down in New York City and I think the article provides some perspective to the debate about bookstore closures. It is all too easy to blame Amazon, online sales, etc – but there are other forces at play. Bookstores need to have a good look at their business model before they blame the easier targets for their demise.
For more visit:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/26/business/media/bookstores-forsake-manhattan-as-rents-surge.html
The high-fives must have been flying at Amazon(s amzn) this morning: millions of the company’s customers got notices to spend credits at its Kindle store, and Amazon didn’t have to pay a cent. Meanwhile, rival Apple(s aapl) will likely underwrite an even bigger shopping spree for Amazon customers sometime yet year.
Welcome to the ironic denouement of l’affaire ebooks, which reached a climax in 2013 when a federal judge found that Apple had brokered a conspiracy with book publishers to fix prices. The legal tussle resulted in the publishers settling their cases — which is what paid for the customer credits that went out today — while Apple fought on alone.
For now, the biggest winner is Amazon, which already dominated the ebook market at the time of the price-fixing scheme in 2010. Today, as a result of lawsuits brought by the Justice Department and state governments, Amazon is in an even stronger position with the publishers; it will also get a healthy cut of the $160 million or…
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The link below is to an article that takes a look at the new partnership between Samsung and Amazon, which includes a new Kindle app and a free book service called ‘Samsung Book Deals.’
For more visit:
http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/samsung-amazon-team-on-new-ebook-club_b84916
The link below is to an article that reports on Amazon’s efforts to link its book selling business with GoodReads the syncing of Kindle Books with GoodReads. This could be a very useful feature for users of both Amazon and Goodreads.
For more visit:
http://goodereader.com/blog/e-book-news/amazon-books-can-now-be-added-to-your-goodreads-shelf
At the BookShelf 
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