Amazon ebook pricing battle intensifies after 'Authors United' ad

Compares Hachette dispute to past paperback fears, but partially quoting George Orwell is a risky moveAmazon has hit back following an open letter from more than 900 authors criticising its licensing dispute with publisher Hachette, which was published as an ad in the New York Times.However, the latest blog post from the Amazon Books Team is raising eyebrows within the publishing industry due to its use of a partial quote from George Orwell in support of its cause.We have made Amazon many millions of dollars and over the years have contributed so much, free of charge, to the company by way of cooperation, joint promotions, reviews and blogs.This is no way to treat a business partner. Nor is it the right way to treat your friends. Without taking sides on the contractual dispute between Hachette and Amazon, we encourage Amazon in the strongest possible terms to stop harming the livelihood of the authors on whom it has built its business.With it being so inexpensive and with so many more people able to afford to buy and read books, you would think the literary establishment of the day would have celebrated the invention of the paperback, yes? Nope. Instead, they dug in and circled the wagons.They believed low cost paperbacks would destroy literary culture and harm the industry (not to mention their own bank accounts). Many bookstores refused to stock them, and the early paperback publishers had to use unconventional methods of distribution places like newsstands and... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2014-08-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #status quo #penguin books #market share #big businesses #reading public

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Amazon Responds to German Authors' Protest

Over the weekend, the 'New York Times' reported on a letter of protest, from authors in Germany, about a terms dispute between Amazon and the local publisher, Bonnier. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-08-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Clockwise Podcast: Chromebooks, ebooks, Surface ads, and broken TVs

The days of electronics repair are over! Plus, Microsoft's aggressive Surface ads, the true value of an ebook, and a visit to the land of Chromebooks. With guests Jason Cross and Melissa Riofrio. Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2014-08-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Child hits back at indie authors in Amazon debate

Author Lee Child has come out swinging in the manner of Jack Reacher on The Passive Voice website... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-08-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Lee Child: Amazon's Readers United letter 'disingenuous'

Amazon is using “authors as collateral damage and using customers as pawns”, author... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-08-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon vs Hachette: readers and authors take sides in publishing dispute

The tussle between Amazon and the publishing conglomerate has been raging since spring. Heres an update on the fightA corporate boxing match broke from the ring and swelled into all-out rumpus last weekend, as readers and authors took sides in Amazon and Hachettes fight over the publishing... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-08-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon Blocks Captain America, Muppets in Price War With Disney

Amazon.com is taking on Walt Disney Co. and its superheroes in its quest to gain more control over pricing online.Amazon blocked pre-orders of Disney's summer hit movie "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" and other titles in disk form, repeating a tactic used in recent disputes with book... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2014-08-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon Urging Authors, Others to Email HBG's Pietsch

The Amazon Book Team urges KDP authors and others to email HBG CEO Michael Pietsch to tell him what they think of the publisher’s attempt to what Amazon says is its effort to keep ebook prices artificially high. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-08-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Over 900 Authors Sign Open Letter to Amazon

Authors United, the loosely knit group of authors who joined forces to formally ask Amazon to end its sales terms dispute with Hachette Books, is preparing to run a full-page ad in Sunday's "New York Times." Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-08-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Preston: authors 'feel betrayed' by Amazon dispute

Books “should not be treated as if they’re boxes of cereal occupying grocery store... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-07-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon says $9.99 ebooks will boost revenue, including for Hachette

Amazon.com believes that pricing ebooks at US$9.99 will boost sales by over 74 percent as the books are highly price-elastic.If customers would buy 100,000 copies of a particular ebook at $14.99, then they would buy 174,000 copies of the same ebook at $9.99, boosting total revenue to $1.7... Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2014-07-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon runs the numbers to convince you that ebooks should be cheaper

After unsuccessfully trying to charm authors, Amazon is now appealing to its customers during the ongoing war with Hachette. The retailer has revealed the reasons behind the spat, i.e. cheaper ebook prices, and the noble intentions behind it. Using... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2014-07-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Writers unite in campaign against 'thuggish' Amazon

Nearly 900 authors across world back criticism of online retailer's business tactics in ebooks dispute with US publisher HachetteThey include some of the biggest literary names on the planet, among them Stephen King, Donna Tartt, Paul Auster, James Patterson and John Grisham; a Pulitzer prize... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-07-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Top-Authors Lobby for Long-Term Strategy Against Amazon

Numerous top authors are enlisting fellow writers to formulate a "long-term" strategy to combat Amazon's dominance of the market, writes The Bookseller. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-07-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon Makes Plea to Authors to Quiet Down

Amazon has extended an olive branch to the newly formed Authors United group, and asked that the organization stop making statements that paint the e-tailer in a negative light as its terms dispute with Hachette drags on. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon buyers prefer DRM-free ebooks, study claims

The big publishers lock down their ebooks to their own detriment, according to a new study. Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2014-07-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon launches Kindle Unlimited ebook service

Amazon.com Inc. on Friday introduced Kindle Unlimited, an all-you-can-read ebook subscription service available for $9.99 a month. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2014-07-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon's Kindle Unlimited offers all-you-can-eat ebooks for $10 a month

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[ Engadget | 2014-07-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Will Amazon offer an unlimited ebook and audiobook service?

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[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-07-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon unveils Kindle Unlimited, an ebook subscription service

Amazon entered the ebook subscription market Friday by launching Kindle Unlimited, a Netflix-like subscription service for ebooks available for $9.99 a month.  Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2014-07-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon to Launch “Netflix for Ebooks” Subscription Service

Amazon will likely introduce an ebook subscription service, Kindle Unlimited, in the near future. Subscribers will have access to over 600,000 ebooks and audiobooks for $9.99 per month. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-07-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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