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 ]
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Fiercest Book Critic of 2012? Camilla Long Had The Year’s Sharpest Hatchet

The Guardian called it: "Camilla Long’s comprehensive shredding of Rachel Cusk’s memoir of her divorce, Aftermath has won her the Hatchet Job of the Year award.” Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-02-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #guardian called #rachel cusk #hatchet job


European Publishers Council Issues Statement on the Google Deal in France

[PRESSWIRE] 14.02.2013 -- Meeting this week in Brussels, Members of the European Publishers Council criticised the deal between Google and French publishers clinched last week to settle the dispute over copyright, remuneration and article sni ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2013-02-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hearst president David Carey: Apple taught people 'how to buy digital content'

David Carey, president of Hearst Magazines, sat down with AllThingsD's Peter Kafka to kick off Day 2 of D:Dive Into Media here in Dana Point, California, with the interview centering on Carey's take on how digital magazines are working out in a world that seems less and less intrigued by... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2013-02-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #digital magazines #physical books #magazine websites #digital front


Frank Lampard signs kids' book deal

England footballer Frank Lampard is to write a series of children's books, says publisher Little, Brown. Continue reading at BBC News

[ BBC News | 2013-02-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Growing Interest in Digital Backlist

Whether they call themselves publishers or distributors, whether they promise elaborate marketing plans, or the basic production tasks necessary to get an ebook up for sale, there are a growing number of companies selling (and acquiring) backlist books. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-02-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #growing interest #digital backlist #growing number


HarperCollins merges non-fiction divisions

HarperCollins is to merge its three non-fiction divisions into two imprints, creating a new... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-02-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Google backs French digital publishing innovation initiative with €60 million incentive

Google's long had a contentious relationship with France. But it seems the Mountain View-based company has come up with a way to squash that problem: by throwing money at it. Taking to the company's official blog today, Chairman Eric Schmidt announced the creation of a €60 million Digital... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2013-02-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #contentious relationship #increase revenues #publishing houses #digital offerings #search giant #cultural center #bottom line


CREATe centre to research digital copyright

A new research centre at Glasgow university will examine "the changing nature of... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-01-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Top Magazine Media Deals of 2012

The year 2012 opened in dramatic fashion with magazine media-related deals. From Hanley Wood’s recapitalization to the final sell-off the remaining segments of what once was the massive Ziff Davis, 2012 saw its fair share of deals that involved traditional media brands as well as the... Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2013-01-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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HarperCollins launches education business in India

HarperCollins is launching a new education publishing division in India which will mark its... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-01-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Distribution: Midpoint and Digital Leaf Agree

Midpoint Trade Books has signed a distribution deal with Digital Leaf, a London-based children’s book and app publisher. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-01-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Advance Publications Buys Digital Marketing Agency, POP

Advance Publications, parent company of Condé Nast, has stepped up its efforts on two fronts with the acquisition of digital marketing agency, POP. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2013-01-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Fears for long-term over 20p ebooks

Concerns are mounting among publishers, booksellers and authors about the long-term impact of the... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-01-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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What is Delaying Widespread Adoption of Digital Textbooks?

It is widely acknowledged that the e-textbook market is yet to fulfill its promise and potential. Why do adoption levels remain so low? Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-01-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Series deals for Titan

Titan Books has acquired a military science-fiction thriller, describing it as a “the... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-01-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Touching the Bases at Digital Book World

From corporate consolidation to book discoverability, to how books are produced and bought, to the proliferation of new devices to read them on, this year’s Digital Book World was a whirlwind tour of the industry’s changing landscape. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-01-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Advance Buys Digital Ad Agency Pop

Newspaper and magazine publishing company Advance Publications Inc. has acquired Seattle-based digital advertising agency Pop, the companies announced this week. Pop will operate as an independent division of Advance Publications. Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2013-01-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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3 Key Ideas from Digital Book World 2013

Looking back on this week's Digital Book World conference, we distill the event into three key ideas: price innovation, discoverability and authenticity. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-01-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Harlequin to launch digital-only Carina list

Harlequin UK is launching a new digital-only imprint called Carina UK, which will encompass all... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-01-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publishing Executive Survey Shows Industry Settling into Digital

Forrester Research and DBW presented the findings of their Executive Publishing Survey on ebooks, devices and digital publishing predictions for 2013. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-01-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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