Spotify has once again drawn the ire of the music industry. The National Music Publishers' Association has called on the Federal Trade Commission to examine the streaming service's addition of audiobook content into all of its paid subscription plans. According to the group's FTC complaint, Spotify's recent actions are part of "a scheme to increase profits by deceiving consumers and cheating the music royalty system." This requires some backstory. In November 2023, Spotify announced that it would include 15 hours of audiobook content as part of all its Premium subscription plans. A few months later, the company unveiled a new audiobook-only subscription, offering the same number of listening hours for $10 a month. The publishers' organization claims that Spotify's recent price increases are based on offering that extra audiobook content, and that paying customers are automatically being charged for a service they didn't choose and can't opt out of without switching to the free, ad-supported listening experience. And the additional revenue from the higher Premium subscription costs may not go to the music composers. According to the FTC complaint, Spotify will pay about $150 million less in music royalties over the first year of these new bundled Premium plans. The NMPA letter goes so far as to call the new audiobook-only plan "a sham" that "exists solely to allow Spotify to claim that audiobook content is a significantly and independently valuable aspect of its 'bundled'... Continue reading at 'Engadget'
[ Engadget | 2024-06-12 23:52:55 UTC ]
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The suit accuses six major publishers of establishing a cartel through its international trade association, STM, and using the peer review process to "unlawfully divert billions of taxpayer dollars every year from science to the Publisher Defendants.” Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-09-18 04:00:00 UTC ]
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The PublisHer international network for women in the book business announces a first North American meeting for late this month. The post PublisHer Plans Its First North American Event appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2024-09-17 22:05:13 UTC ]
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On Saturdays in late ’90s, my father, a taxi driver, would pool his tips for the week and take me, a child too precocious for his own good, to a local bookstore in search of my next read. Together, we silently wandered the store, picking up paperbacks and inspecting their pages. On shelves that... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2024-09-17 08:55:21 UTC ]
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Fran Greenman-Schmitz joins the the storied 50-year-old Jewish house with a singular focus: to see more proudly Jewish books in the marketplace. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-09-17 04:00:00 UTC ]
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The Italian publishers association and six sister agencies call for an overhaul of Italy's sharply changed '18App' culture voucher. The post Italy’s Publishers Demand a Culture Voucher Relaunch appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2024-09-16 16:34:47 UTC ]
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The inaugural International Summit of Audio Publishers held September 10 in New York City drew 137 participants who discussed current market conditions, the impact of AI, and what is coming next for the booming industry. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-09-13 04:00:00 UTC ]
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The layoffs of Gleick, associate publisher Michael McKenzie, and "other staff" constitute what Little, Brown president and publisher Sally Kim called "the final part of the Workman reorganization." The Algonquin imprint was moved into Little, Brown in July. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-09-12 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Cost cuts and higher sales led to rises in profits at HarperCollins, Lagardère Publishing, and Penguin Random House in the first half of this year. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-09-06 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Jarit has been promoted from head of ACX and North America publisher partnerships to global head of publisher and partner relations at Audible, overseeing the audio company’s global acquisitions strategy through its Audiobook Creation Exchange. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-09-05 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Manning joined S&S's flagship imprint in 2016 and was named VP and executive editor in 2022. He succeeds S&S CEO Jonathan Karp, who has held down the role since the 2022 departure of Dana Canedy. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-09-04 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Except for a brief period, a few years ago. My wheels had finally found the ruts of a writer’s path: I had a viral essay and New York Times bylines. I had kneeled before Poets & Writers with a writing book and been tapped by their sword on my shoulder, included on their Best Books […] The... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2024-09-03 11:10:00 UTC ]
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Lerner Publishing Group has acquired the supplemental literacy solutions company Sundance Newbridge Publishing from Globe Pequot Publishing. The acquisition adds about 3,600 titles to the Lerner Pre-K–8 catalog. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-09-03 04:00:00 UTC ]
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The Englewood Review of Books (ERB), the online review publication started in 2008, has announced that it will restart its book publishing program, thanks in part to a grant from the Lily Endowment. “We wanted to think differently about how we are prepared to contribute to the larger work,” said... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-09-03 04:00:00 UTC ]
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He pioneered the bookstore-as-superstore, a retail behemoth that dominated the industry before Amazon overtook it with its online reach. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2024-08-30 23:05:12 UTC ]
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Hundreds of titles from Judy Blume to Mark Twain purged from school libraries following rightwing challengesSix major book publishers have teamed up to sue the US state of Florida over an “unconstitutional” law that has seen hundreds of titles purged from school libraries following rightwing... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2024-08-30 17:40:29 UTC ]
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A major lawsuit challenges Florida's book banning law, SPARE is finally coming out in paperback, and how the NYPL memed its way into saving more than 50 million bucks from being cut from its budget. All in today's top book news. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2024-08-29 16:33:25 UTC ]
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The August 29 complaint over H.B. 1069 argues that the statute is vague and overbroad, and that it has led to the improper removal of hundreds of books from school and classroom libraries in the state. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-08-29 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Bookshop gets into used books, guessing the 2024 NBA Long List for Fiction, and a couple of real bummer stories in today's book news. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2024-08-28 21:45:13 UTC ]
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Vault Books has announced an expansion of its collaboration with Aethon Books, and will publish a selection of Aethon's popular LitRPG webcomics in print as illustrated light novel adaptations. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-08-26 04:00:00 UTC ]
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