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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MIT's 'Technology Review' Launches Digital First Initative

Jason Pontin has a daunting task at hand.  The editor in chief and publisher of MIT’s Technology Review is the man charged with recalibrating the 112-year-old thought-leading publication, a duty he described to Adweek as an "on some level unwelcome, but intellectually interesting task, which is... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2012-06-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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HarperCollins to publish Whitney Houston bio

Cissy Houston, Whitney Houston's gospel-singer mom, has sold a book about her late daughter to HarperCollins Publishers, according to a person with knowledge of the deal. Ms. Houston, who is 78, met with publishers in New York in April to pitch them on the project, according to a report in The... Continue reading at Crains New York

[ Crains New York | 2012-06-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Carly Simon sells long-awaited memoir

Carly Simon, the singer and songwriter who has had a rocky life and a storied career, has sold her autobiography to Random House for a sum in the seven figures, according to a person familiar with the deal. Ms. Simon, the author of several children's books, is writing the memoir herself. It's... Continue reading at Crains New York

[ Crains New York | 2012-06-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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HarperCollins distribution hit after systems change

The switchover to a new computer system at HarperCollins’ Glasgow distribution centres has... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-05-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon, Publisher Settle Digital Books Dispute

A three month long dispute over the sale of digital books between Amazon.com Inc. and a leading independent book distributor has been resolved, both parties said Friday. Continue reading at AllThingsD

[ AllThingsD | 2012-05-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Urbanite magazine seeks investor to expand digital platform

Publisher says monthly is not for sale or going out of businessThe publisher of the Urbanite, a free monthly magazine focused on Baltimore urban affairs, said Wednesday she was seeking an investor to help the publication expand its digital media offerings. Continue reading at Baltimore Sun

[ Baltimore Sun | 2012-05-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Akenhead in new digital role at HUK

Isobel Akenhead is to take on the role of digital promotions manager in Hachette UK's Group... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-05-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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BA: new digital offers for high street

The Booksellers Association's chief executive Tim Godfray has said Kobo, Anobii and Hive will... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-05-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Mixed reactions continue to Waterstones Amazon deal

Reactions of surprise and bemusement have continued in the trade today in the wake of this... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-05-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Fairfax Digital CEO Role Scrapped

Jane Huxley is leaving Fairfax after her role as chief executive officer and publisher of digital was scrapped in a company restructure. The move is part of Fairfax Metro Media’s ongoing restructure to closer align print and online. Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2012-05-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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ABC Interactive to Conduct Audit of Adobe Digital Publishing Suite Metrics

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. (May 15, 2012) – ABC Interactive announced it is working with Adobe to audit metrics provided by Adobe’s Digital Publishing Suite, an industry-leading set of hosted services and viewer technologies that ena ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2012-05-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Adobe Announces Next Generation of Digital Publishing Suite

NEW YORK — May 15, 2012 — At Adobe’s annual Digital Publishing Summit, Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) today announced a series of groundbreaking new features for Adobe® Digital Publishing Suite (DPS) th ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2012-05-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publishers build collaborations as digital pace quickens

Publishers are hastening to embrace new partnerships, stronger direct-to-consumer programmes and... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-05-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Flooved offers digital book subs

A start-up digital textbook platform has agreed terms with 12 publishers ahead of a 1st September... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-05-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon conjures Harry Potter e-deal

Amazon says it has signed a deal for the electronic books rights to all seven Harry Potter titles in English, French, Italian, German and Spanish for its Kindle lending library. Continue reading at Stuff

[ Stuff | 2012-05-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Future Launches Weekly Digital Cycling Magazine

Future plc has launched a new weekly digital magazine, called Cycling News HD, to be sold through Apple’s Newsstand. The first issue is available for free, while subscriptions are priced at $.99 per week, or $42.99 per year. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2012-05-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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PPA Conference: Digital takes up 80% of our time, says Hearst's Dolphin

Although print accounts for 80% of Hearst's revenues, the publisher is spending 80% of its time on the "huge potential" of digital, according to Ella Dolphin, publishing director of Hearst Magazines UK's young women's group. Continue reading at Media Week

[ Media Week | 2012-05-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Digital focus for Policy Press

The Policy Press (TPP) has revealed plans to increase its digital focus as the popularity of e-... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-05-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Nook and HMH partner in school deal

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH) has teamed up with Barnes & Noble’s Nook to deliver e-... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-05-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Digital revenues up 64% for S&S US

Digital revenues for Simon & Schuster US climbed 64% in the first quarter of the year, while... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-05-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #digital revenues #simon schuster