Heads up, bookworms! Oyster is Netflix for books

The all-you-can-eat Netflix model of media consumption is now available for ebooks.Oyster, a year-old Flatiron-district startup with $3 million in backing, launched its iPhone e-reading application and subscription service on Thursday. For now, the service is only available by invitation (users can request an invite on Oyster's website or on the downloaded app.) Users will pay $10 a month for unlimited reading. Oyster offers more than 100,000 titles from hundreds of publishers.An iPad app will launch sometime in the fall, but a spokeswoman said Oyster has no immediate plans to expand beyond iOS.The launch is limited in other ways, too. Just one of the so-called Big Five New York houses is participating, and that publisher, HarperCollins, has only made available a small number of its backlist titles. Other titles come from digital-only houses like Open Road and RosettaBooks, smaller players like Houghton Mifflin and indies like Melville House.Though a subscriber can read popular titles like Life of Pi and The Color Purple, and esoteric hits like the novels of Philip K. Dick, new books other than reference titles are hard, if not impossible, to find.A spokeswoman for Oyster, however, said the company has many titles that are less than a year old, and typically secures new ones 90 to 120 days after their release.Oyster's main innovation is its subscription model—an unconventional approach to e-reading that its founders hope will prove lucrative for publishers and authors by... Continue reading at 'Crains New York'

[ Crains New York | 2013-09-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #google maps #biggest challenge #subscription services #evan schnittman #chief marketing #sales officer

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Six Religion Books Headed to the Big Screen in 2016

Read it before you see it: here are six religion book-to-film adaptations slated to hit theaters in 2016. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-01-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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ABA Head Rings Alarm About Amazon Books and Antitrust Laws

In light of Amazon opening a physical store in Seattle, the booksellers association head is reminding publishers and other vendors of their obligation to ensure that accounts do not transfer inventory from one class of business to another. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-11-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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After Oyster, What's Next for E-Book Subscriptions?

The shuttering of Oyster, "the Netflix of books," raises questions about the sustainability of the ebook subscription model. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-09-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Oyster, the Netflix of ebooks, is shutting down

The world of ebook subscription services lost one of its earliest proponents late Monday evening, when Oyster—the so-called “Netflix of ebooks,” which also recently opened an online book store—announced it was shutting down “over the next few months.”The surprise announcement comes less than two... Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2015-09-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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E-Book App Oyster Is Closing Shop As Google Hires Its Cofounders

Oyster, an ebook subscription service inspired by Netflix and Spotify, is shuttering—and Google has scooped up its top execs.Oyster, the ebook subscription service and would-be Amazon competitor, is calling it quits. In a blog post published Monday, the Oyster team announced that, in the coming... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2015-09-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'Ink and Bone' is an explosive YA book aimed at bookworms

Rachel Caine unravels the secrets of the Library of Alexandria even as she spins an irresistible story. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2015-08-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bodley Head buys book by John Murray's Philipps

The Bodley Head has acquired a biography of spy Donald Maclean, written by John Murray publisher Roland Philipps. Publishing director Stuart Williams bought UK and Commonwealth rights, excluding Canada, to A Spy Named Orphan: The Lives of Donald Maclean, from Natasha Fairweather at United... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-07-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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My Job In 5: Emma O’Donovan, Head of marketing Flying Eye Books

Describe your role. Creating and managing marketing campaigns for new releases and ensuring that as many people as possible hear about and are completely enthused by the fantastic books Flying Eye are producing, through press reviews, events, advertising and online channels. What do you like... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-07-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Netflix-Like Book Services Would Be Happy if You Read Less

As long as they pay publishers every time a book is read, ebook subscription services are more successful the less people read. The post Netflix-Like Book Services Would Be Happy if You Read Less appeared first on WIRED. Continue reading at Wired

[ Wired | 2015-07-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bloomsbury buys book tackling racism 'head on'

Bloomsbury has bought world English rights to a book about racism in the UK by 25-year-old activist and freelance journalist Reni Eddo-Lodge. Commissioning editor Alexa von Hirschberg acquired Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race from Rupert Heath of Rupert Heath Literary... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-05-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The ‘Netflix for Books’ Just Invaded Amazon’s Turf

Oyster, which offers "all you can eat" access to 1 million books, is now taking on Amazon directly with individual book sales. The post The ‘Netflix for Books’ Just Invaded Amazon’s Turf appeared first on WIRED. Continue reading at Wired

[ Wired | 2015-04-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Oyster Adds E-book Retail

Oyster, the ebook subscription service launched in 2013, has added a retail component to its business. It is now offering more than a million ebooks for sale, including titles from all of the Big Five publishers. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-04-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'Harry Potter' comes to Oyster's all-you-can-read book service

If you're the sort of Harry Potter fan who can't help but read the series again and again, Oyster has a treat in store. The all-you-can-read subscription service has teamed up with Pottermore to carry all of the Harry Potter books, including the Hogw... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2015-01-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publishers Are Lining Up Behind ‘Netflix for Books’ Services. But Why?

On Tuesday, Scribd and Oyster both announced partnerships with Macmillan to bring new titles to their ebook subscription services. But how do all-you-can read platforms benefit publishers? The post Publishers Are Lining Up Behind ‘Netflix for Books’ Services. But Why? appeared first on WIRED. Continue reading at Wired

[ Wired | 2015-01-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Oyster, Scribd Add Macmillan E-books; Frontlist Grows

Oyster and Scribd add Macmillan backlist ebooks in addition to a growing list of frontlist titles. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-01-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Oyster Adds Book List Recommendations

E-book subscription service Oyster is adding a Book Lists feature to expand its ability to offer book recommendations to readers. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-11-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Oyster Looks Back at a Year of E-book Subscription

A year after its launch, ebook subscription service Oyster, has added tens of thousands of titles, scores of new publishers and appears to be attracting more subscribers. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-09-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Oyster, the Netflix of ebooks, is expanding

Oyster, the ebook subscription service, has launched a new version of its app that is available for Android devices as well as Amazon Kindle Fire and Barnes & Noble Nook tablets. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2014-06-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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S&S Adds E-Book Backlist to Oyster, Scribd

Simon & Schuster has reached an agreement with subscription ebook services Oyster and Scribd to make 10,000 of its backlist ebooks available to subscribers. This is S&S’s first time offering its titles via ebook subscription services. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-05-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Oyster, the Netflix of ebooks, now offers more than 500,000 titles

Oyster, an iPhone and iPad app that gives users unlimited access to its catalog of ebooks for $9.95 per month, announced that it now has more than 500,000 titles available on its service. The New York start-up launched to much acclaim last September, hailed as the Netflix of ebooks. But... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2014-05-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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