Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos took the stage at a large airplane hangar in Santa Monica, Calif., this morning and presented a dazzling, methodical, hourlong disquisition on the state of the technology business. He began by explaining why most of the iPad’s competitors have failed: “They’re gadgets,” he said, “and people don’t want gadgets anymore. They want services that improve over time.” He spent five minutes explaining Amazon’s rock-bottom pricing strategy. The company, he explained, aims to “align with our customers,” so the firm only makes money when people “use our devices, not when they buy our devices.” Bezos beamed as he showed how Amazon is remaking the book business. In the first year after getting a Kindle, people buy nearly five times as many books, he said. That should put a stop to the snobbish argument that Amazon is killing “literary culture.” Continue reading at 'Slate'
[ Slate | 2012-09-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
Bob Deyan, founder of Deyan Audio Services, passed away on August 19 at the UCLA Medical Center in Santa Monica, Calif. due to complications of ALS. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-08-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Conde Nast ended years of speculation on Monday about whether it would shutter Lucky or continue to print the sputtering magazine by instead spinning off Lucky into a separate company called The Lucky Group.The new company is a joint venture between Conde Nast and BeachMint, an e-commerce... Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2014-08-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Out of Print, the film documentary by Vivienne Roumani about the state-of-affairs in the book business and the culture of reading in America circa 2013, is worth seeking out. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-08-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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It’s been a big week for bookstore openings, remodeling, and branch stores from some of the biggest names in the book business. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-08-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Jerry Gross, co-founder of the Independent Editors Group, died in Santa Monica, Calif. on July 6. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Kraft, Nike, Target and Walmart are trialing new video technology that makes ads interactive. In the case of Kraft, a 15-second clip comes with pop-up information on the brand and its products. As the video runs, a click over one of the frames pulls up a pastry recipe or product details for... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2014-07-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The digital publishing boom of the last few years has changed the book business for ever, or has it? As a three-day conference begins to debate 'literary values in a digital age', we'll be reporting, live from 9.40am on Friday June 12, the views of editors, activists, writers, doubters and... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-06-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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BuzzFeed is revamping how it specifies sponsored content. The site will now label branded content with a small, bold yellow box stating it is "promoted by" a particular marketer, and brand pages will be labeled "brand publisher" instead of "featured partner." BuzzFeed previously designated... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2014-05-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Readerlink Distribution Services has reached an agreement with TNG GP to acquire most of TNG’s book business while TNG takes over Readerlink’s store merchandising functions. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-04-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Our annual collection of sales numbers for books sold in the last calendar year provides a granular portrait of the book business. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-03-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The book business is merging into the magazine business as more publishers sell literature via subscription to highly targeted clusters of readers. High-profile literary studio Plympton is leading the charge with its $5-a-month iOS service Rooster. Continue reading at Wired
[ Wired | 2014-03-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Years of effort on behalf of publishers has resulted in a new fixed book price law in Slovenia, which should help stabilize the tiny nation's book business. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-02-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In a morning session entirely devoted to Amazon.com, author Brad Stone and consultant Joe Esposito looked back over the history of Amazon's growth (and remorseless tactics) before looking ahead to its next round of competitive targets. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-01-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Bookseller's Digital Census, the annual tracker of how the book business is managing the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-12-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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By Lynn Rosen We spend a lot of time finding the most appealing image and compelling copy lines for our covers, and I'm sure you do the same at your publication. I learned from my years in the book business that... Continue reading at Publishing Executive
[ Publishing Executive | 2013-11-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In the New Republic, Evan Hughes argues that the book business has fared far better than music, movies and other media in sustaining its value to consumers. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-10-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The ABA's CEO sent an open letter to independent booksellers encouraging them to publicize Amazon as a company "detrimental" to the book business and buyers. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-08-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Jeffrey Bezos buys the Washington Post for $250 million. The Amazon founder is known as a patient leader who is willing to absorb losses as he builds businesses.Amazon.com founder Jeffrey Bezos, who revolutionized the book business, is now aiming to do the same with one of the nation's most... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2013-08-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Until Overstock began its price war with Amazon in late July, the companay and its CEO Patrick M. Byrne had kept a relatively low profile in the book business. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-08-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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With former Pottermore CEO Redmayne running HarperCollins UK, publishers wonder what his appointment foretells about the future of the book business. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-07-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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