Scribd, HarperCollins deal casts long digital shadow

Whether publishers want it or not, the Netflix model is coming to the book business.The San Francisco startup Scribd, best known as a site for posting PDFs of documents, announced Tuesday it is launching a multi-platform digital book subscription service that will provide access to a wide range of titles for $9 a month. Users can read ebooks on iOS and Android devices, as well as on Web browsers, and keep as many as 20 titles available for reading offline.Unlike other Netflix-like services that have launched recently, including Manhattan-based Oyster, Scribd is starting with thousands of titles from HarperCollins, or the majority of the publisher's backlist up until July 2012. Getting the cooperation of the so-called Big Five New York publishing houses has been the holy grail of subscription-service startups, and having even one of them represents a significant advance.More than 30 smaller publishers are also working with Scribd, including Sourcebooks, Workman and Kensington.Scribd, founded in 2007, also starts out with a high profile and an enormous user-base: It claims 80 million active readers monthly, and says that the subscription service—which soft-launched in January—has been growing by 60% every month. The company declined to provide subscriber numbers."There's never been an access model rolled out with this level of support and scale," said Trip Adler, Scribd's 29-year-old CEO and co-founder.Publishers have typically shied away from subscription services on the... Continue reading at 'Crains New York'

[ Crains New York | 2013-10-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #literary agent #message directly #forrester research #attractive option

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After 18 months clearing rights and nearly $250k invested, the Museum of Modern Art has put out the first interactive ebook featuring the work of Picasso. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-07-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Jackson moves to S&S in four-book deal

Simon & Schuster has signed Eighty Days erotica author Vina Jackson for a four-book deal.... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-07-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The New Thor Is a Big Deal, But Not Because She’s a Woman

The Thor in Marvel's comic book universe is about to become a woman. This is very cool news, but not entirely for the reasons you might imagine. Continue reading at Wired

[ Wired | 2014-07-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Start Publishing in Deal with Mason Crest

E-book publisher Start Publishing has added 795 titles to its catalogue in a deal with independent publisher Mason Crest. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Princeton U. Press Partners with Ingram to Digitize Backlist

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Revlon Products Play a Starring Role in #GoBold, Hearst's New Digital Video Series

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[ Advertising Age | 2014-07-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sponsored Content is the Holy Grail of Digital Publishing. But Does it Work?

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[ Editor & Publisher | 2014-07-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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HarperCollins Presses Damages Case Against Open Road

In a short reply brief filed on July 2, HarperCollins attorneys urged the court to uphold their request for an injunction and more than $1.1 million in damages and attorneys fees. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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HarperCollins launches direct-to-consumer sales site

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[ The Bookseller | 2014-07-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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HarperCollins Tries Direct Sales

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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College Students Prefer A Mix of Print and Digital Textbooks

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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FarFaria Adds HarperCollins’ Titles, iPhone Support

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Will a new editor find an audience for his 'religiously digital' newspaper?

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[ The Guardian | 2014-07-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Special Report: Digital Printing

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Gallery Books in Deal with Omnific

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ Silicon Valley Business Journal | 2014-07-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Digital Video Ads That Make You Want to Click

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[ AdWeek | 2014-07-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ The Guardian | 2014-07-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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