How Amazon's bid to bury Hachette has backfired

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 ]
News tagged with: #book publishing #bit odd #allen lane #british public

Other Publishing stories related to: 'How Amazon's bid to bury Hachette has backfired'


Amazon Publishing Books Faring Better on Amazon's New Bestseller Lists

Four Amazon Publishing titles, which drew poor BookScan print sales numbers, are among the top 20 fiction bestsellers on the latest iteration of the e-tailer's new weekly bestseller list, bolstered by sales in non-print formats. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-05-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #bestseller lists #latest iteration


Amazon launches Amazon Video Direct

Amazon has launched a new self-service video uploading platform called Amazon Video Direct. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-05-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Amazon VP On Amazon's New Bookstore: 'We Have No Idea What's Going to Happen'

Amazon Books vice president Jennifer Cast discusses Amazon's strategy for its first physical bookstore, where a mix of data and user reviews decides the inventory. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-11-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #physical bookstore


Amazon rebrands Cloud Player with launch of Amazon Music 3 for mobile and desktop

Amazon has refreshed its entire collection of cloud music apps with the releases of Amazon Music for Windows 3.0, Amazon Music for Mac 3.0, Amazon Music  for iPad and iPhone 3.0 and Amazon Music for Android 3.0. All four platforms share similar updates, and accompany Amazon’s foray into music... Continue reading at Betanews

[ Betanews | 2014-06-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #music streaming


Hachette in the UK and USA: International Management

The key changes announced emphasize greater international dexterity for Hachette under David Shelley's transatlantic leadership. The post Hachette in the UK and USA: International Management appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2024-05-07 22:04:31 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #post hachette #david shelley #hachette


Amazon's standard Kindle is on sale for $80

Amazon’s entry-level 16GB Kindle is on sale for $80, which is a discount of 20 percent. This is the latest iteration of the standard ereader, dating back to 2022. Amazon doesn’t do too many Kindle hardware updates, so we don’t know if this sale precludes a forthcoming refresh. The sale covers... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2024-05-06 17:12:07 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #good reason #font size #follow @engadgetdeals #kindle


Full Steam Ahead for Amazon in Strong First Quarter

Driven by its cloud computing unit, sales and earnings at Amazon posted big first-quarter gains this year. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-05-01 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


ABA Seeks to Add Bookstores to FTC Lawsuit Against Amazon

The American Booksellers Association has filed a motion with the Federal Trade Commission seeking to fix a hole in the FTC’s antitrust complaint against Amazon that many in the industry agree needs correcting: that it did not specifically include what Amazon’s practices have done to book... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-04-29 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #independent bookstores #american booksellers association


The Kindle Paperwhite Signature is $30 off for Prime members during the Amazon Big Spring Sale

Amazon's Big Spring Sale has brought a $30 discount to the company's upgraded e-reader, the Kindle Paperwhite Signature. It's down to $160 instead of the $190 list price for Prime members. That's not an all-time low (we saw it drop to $125 for Prime Day last July) but still a decent discount on... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2024-03-20 16:30:29 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #8-inch screen #spring sales #expert editors #car experts #kindle


The best early Amazon Big Spring Sale deals you can shop today

There's another jumbo-sized Amazon sale on the way. The Big Spring Sale, as it's called, will run from March 20 to March 25 and include a variety of discounts on "seasonally relevant items." This doesn't look to be another Prime Day situation, however; Amazon says most of the offers will be... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2024-03-15 16:15:34 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #landing page #ve rounded #days ago #coming days #kindle


Titles to Be Restored After Bookwire, Amazon Strike New Deal

In a March 13 statement, Bookwire officials said that, while they were unable to share terms of the new agreement, "relisting of the e-book titles" on Amazon, following their delisting earlier this week during tense negotiations, "is expected shortly." Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-03-14 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #e-book


Telegraph and Spectator takeover: News Corp and Mail owner consider bids

Planned acquisition by UAE-backed RedBird IMI is being considered by the culture secretaryBusiness live – latest updatesMedia groups have reportedly shown fresh interest in a takeover of the Telegraph and Spectator alongside Redbird IMI, the UAE backed consortium.Bloomberg said Rupert Murdoch’s... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2024-03-12 14:46:36 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #news uk #planned acquisition #rupert murdoch #daily mail #culture secretary #news corp


How 19 years of Amazon Prime has satisfied our need for speed

Just as Engadget was hitting publish on its first posts, I was putting a freshly minted English degree to use working at an indie bookshop in Los Angeles. In seemingly unrelated news, Amazon had just reported its first profitable year after switching from selling books to selling “everything”... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2024-03-08 14:15:57 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #market data #20th anniversary #good book #bookstore #bookshop


Court Orders Amazon E-book Monopoly Lawsuit to Proceed

A federal judge has held that “monopolization” claims against Amazon can move forward, finding that lawyers for a potential consumer class have plausibly alleged that Amazon’s conduct in the e-book market has led to “reduced competition” and “higher e-book prices." Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-03-04 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #federal judge #move forward #e-book market #e-book


Sales Fell 6.8% at Hachette Book Group in 2023

Revenue at Hachette’s U.S. division fell 6.8% last year and was the weakest performer in Lagardère's publishing group, where total sales increased 2.2%, to €2.81 billion, and profits slipped by €1 million, to €301 million. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-02-28 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #hachette book


Hachette’s David Shelley Names Sally Kim to Lead Little, Brown

David Shelley, in naming Sally Kim as publisher of Hachette division Little, Brown, says he has admired her work 'from across the Atlantic'. The post Hachette’s David Shelley Names Sally Kim to Lead Little, Brown appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2024-02-13 23:13:31 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #david shelley #hachette


Amazon Turns $2.7 Billion Loss in 2022 to a Profit of $30 Billion in 2023

A strong holiday shopping season, an improved fulfillment operation, and cost cuts including an estimated 27,000 layoffs resulted in a $30 billion profit for Amazon in 2023 following a loss of $2.7 billion in 2022. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-02-02 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #$30 billion


Amazon's newest Fire HD 10 tablet falls to just $105

If you're looking for a new tablet to keep track of all your 2024 goals on (or just for fun), now is a great time to buy. A range of Amazon Fire Tablets are currently on sale, including the new Fire HD 10 tablet. A 42 percent discount brings the 64GB Amazon Fire HD 10 tablet to $105 from $180 —... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2024-01-15 12:05:32 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #microsd slot #lock screen #buying advice #extra $10 #follow @engadgetdeals #good book