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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Publishers in the US including Hachette Book Group, Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster are making $250m (£163m) in free ebooks available to low-income students as part of a scheme announced today (30th April) by President Obama. The new ebook commitments, to cover a three-year... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-05-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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There is "an enormous business to be built in the book subscription space," similar to that in music and film, but more titles need to be made available by publishers, Scribd c.e.o. Trip Adler told the IPA Congress in Bangkok yesterday (24th March). Meanwhile HarperCollins chief digital officer... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-03-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Two music publishers - BMG Rights Management LLC and Round Hill Music LP – have sued Atlanta-based Cox Communications Inc., claiming that Cox deliberately turns a blind eye to illegal downloading by its subscribers. BMG and Round Hill, each of which controls the publishing rights to a number of... Continue reading at Silicon Valley Business Journal
[ Silicon Valley Business Journal | 2014-11-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Reducing the click-bait clutter is just the latest in a series of alterations aimed at filtering the news feed for quality. It looks like long-form publishers have something to celebrate. Sponsor content by Parse.ly. The post Why publishers should cheer Facebook’s click-bait crusade appeared... Continue reading at Digiday
[ Digiday | 2014-08-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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News Corp co-chairman said competitors were 'irresponsible' to talk about a time when it would stop printing newspapers The co-chairman of News Corp, Lachlan Murdoch, has mounted a strong defence of the future of newspapers in the digital age while condemning his Australian competitors for... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-06-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A music publisher is venturing into religion/spirituality with a line of books about the spiritual thoughts of celebrities. Now the company just needs to figure out where it can sell them. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-04-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The print book business in Latin America remains dominant, but digital is rising. Are there lessons to be learned from the music business? Several Argentine music pros weigh in. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-11-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publishers have partnered with AOL on a new bundled-subscription offering the company rolled out Monday. Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2013-10-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The son of T Rex frontman, Marc Bolan, is suing a UK music publisher for $2m, alleging the company has violated copyright laws. Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2013-07-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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New York-based startup Tinypass, which helps small publishers and content creators charge for content online through existing platforms like Google, is rolling out metered content options to all of its clients. Tinypass, which signed up its first f ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2012-10-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Apple's Steve Jobs played a key role in a price-fixing plan with five ebook publishers, federal and state officials say in antitrust lawsuits.WASHINGTON — Former Apple Inc. Chief Executive Steve Jobs was a key player in a conspiracy with five major book publishers to drive up the price of... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2012-04-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In December 2010 I asked: "Is someone fixing ebook prices?" Google's digital bookstore opened for business, and I started comparing prices only to find them fairly consistent across all retailers. I expected to see huge variances, not pricing consistency, which shouldn't be in a competitive... Continue reading at Betanews
[ Betanews | 2012-04-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Benedicte Page Publication Date: Fri, 20/05/2011 - 08:34 Random House and Bloomsbury have begun "buddying" programmes to support their local libraries and library authorities. More than 20 Random House staff have volunteered to be part of a pilot scheme pioneered by deputy group... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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There may not be a ton of enthusiasm in the publishing world for Apple's new policy for subscription services--particularly when it comes to giving Cupertino a... Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2011-02-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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By Joe Wilcox, Betanews Somebody call the cops -- eh, antitrust authorities. Apple's subscription plan is here, and it's as bad for many, if not most, publishers as rumored. The first of several key sentences from Apple's press announcement: "Publishers may no longer provide links in their apps... Continue reading at Betanews
[ Betanews | 2011-02-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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European publishers have added their voice to the chorus of criticism of Apples plans for iPad newspaper subscriptions. Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2011-02-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Major music labels are taking on AI startups that they believe trained on their songs without paying. Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group and Sony Music Group sued the music generators Suno and Udio for allegedly infringing on copyrighted works on a “massive scale.” The Recording Industry... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2024-06-24 17:29:16 UTC ]
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Get insights on the state of publishing from agents, editors, and other industry professionals from the 2024 U.S. Book Show. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2024-05-23 18:14:04 UTC ]
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During this spring’s Digiday Publishing Summit in Vail, Colorado, publishers filled the challenge board with a whole host of issues that ranged from traffic troubles to AI anxiety. Continue reading at Digiday
[ Digiday | 2024-04-08 04:01:00 UTC ]
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An editor explains how publishing LGBTQ books poses unique opportunities and challenges when books are published on both sides of the Atlantic. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-02-23 05:00:00 UTC ]
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