Amazon's suggestion that the ebook and paperback revolutions are comparable has sparked scorn, satire and indigationWhen Amazon published their rather extraordinary "Message from the Amazon Books Team" at readersunited.com last week, they got a few things right and a few things wrong. Alongside a realistic analysis of ebook pricing and a rather aggressive plea to bombard the CEO of Hachette with threatening emails, the letter noted that "Just ahead of World War II, there was a radical invention that shook the foundations of book publishing". This was the paperback, and apparently it was opposed by publishers who "dug in and circled the wagons". Which is a bit odd, as the person most widely credited with the popularisation of the paperback (but not its invention) was Allen Lane, who, as founder of Penguin Books, introduced paperback classics to the British public.Amazon's other bizarre decision, alongside the somewhat unnecessary second world war reference, was to quote George Orwell selectively on the subject and accuse him of "collusion". In fact, Orwell was making a sarcastic dig in favour of the paperback, and Amazon has been accused of doublespeak by the Orwell estate. The parody page booksunited.org, created by online writer Dan Hon in the voice of the books themselves, smartly notes that "We are not fighting for our existence. We know that as long as you humans exist, you will write, and you will read." Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2014-08-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Group representing Donna Tartt, Stephen King and others says Amazon tactics have driven sales down by at least 50%Some of the worlds most famous authors escalated their heated dispute with Amazon on Monday, publishing a letter to retailers board warning of the ugly history of blocking book... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-09-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Ebook price row has the potential to create irreversible changes to the literary world and its business modelsThe battle between Amazon and the French publisher Hachette is not just a spat about the price of books. Their row over ebook prices, which led to the online retailer freezing out... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-08-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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If Amazon believes in readers and Hachette believes in authors as much as they say, it's imperative they end their fight as soon as possible, argues Tanja Tuma. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-08-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Can a one-size-fits-all, low-price, consumer-dominated sales model support a diverse, innovative, challenging literary output?It is either an existential threat to intellectual freedom or a rustbelt media industry meeting its comeuppance at the hands of disruptive technology. The battle between... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-08-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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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 has responded to an open letter by Authors United, signed by 900-plus authors in support of Hachette, with their own open letter, Readers United. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-08-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The dispute between Amazon and Hachette Book Group (HBG) has escalated further after the online... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-08-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon's fight with Hachette over ebook pricing just got extra-personal. Hot on the heels of writers attacking Jeff Bezos' "retaliation," the Amazon Books Team has posted a Readers United site that calls on you to email Hachette CEO Michael Pietsch... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2014-08-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hachette finance chief plays down effect of Amazon tactics as parent Lagardère reports 1% overall dip in salesThe Hachette publishing group has reported a fall in ebook sales as it continues its battle with Amazon over pricing.The publisher of Ian Rankin and Booker prize nominee Joshua Ferris... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-08-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon recently extended a public challenge to Hachette, saying that if the publisher will lower ebook prices to $9.99, the company won't ask for a larger share of the revenues. This is the first time Amazon has publicly shared details of the dispute between the two companies. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-07-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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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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Hachette Book Group is “sharing too small a portion” of the revenue from ebooks with... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-07-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In a survey, Codex Group reports 39% were aware of the Amazon/Hachette dispute — and 7.5% are buying less from Amazon. Are you? Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-07-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon has reportedly offered Authors United, a group of writers protesting against the online... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-07-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The publisher is reportedly in talks with the e-commerce giant, sparking speculation as to what the negotiations are about. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-07-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon's long-running standoff with Hachette has been making headlines for months. Here's the whole story in PW coverage. What began as a "scuffle" now has us using the language of war to describe it. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Wall Street Journal reports that Amazon has gone directly to authors 'hoping to gain hearts and minds – and leverage' in its dispute with Hachette. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-07-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon recently offered Hachette writers 100 percent of ebook profits until the dispute between the publisher and the bookselling giant is resolved. The move prompted criticism from Hachette. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-07-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon.com Inc. is offering authors caught up in its dispute with Hachette Book Group all of the proceeds from the sale of any digital book, seeking to bypass the publisher and appeal directly to the... To view the full story, click the title link. Continue reading at Crains New York
[ Crains New York | 2014-07-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon.com Inc. is offering authors caught up in its dispute with Hachette Book Group all proceeds from the sale of any digital book, seeking to bypass the publisher and appeal directly to writers.Amazon sent a letter to authors, including Douglas Preston, proposing to extract them from the spat... Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2014-07-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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