Spotify has a new plan for US subscribers that keeps you on the old $11 monthly pricing — as long as you don’t mind ditching audiobooks. The new Basic tier includes the music and podcast content you get from Premium but without 15 hours of audiobook access, a recently added feature we suspect many subscribers don’t care about anyway. Spotify said earlier this month it would hike Premium prices to $12 per month, beginning in July. The Basic plan echoes one it rolled out in the UK last month. That one costs £11 per month compared to £12 for Premium with audiobook content. Some have suspected Spotify’s audiobook push has nefarious motives. Earlier this month, the National Music Publishers’ Association asked the Federal Trade Commission to investigate the move, going as far as calling the company’s audiobook integration “a scheme to increase profits by deceiving consumers and cheating the music royalty system.” The NMPA complaint claims Spotify will pay about $150 million less in music royalties over the next year because of its audiobook fusion. Spotify told Engadget it did nothing wrong and rejected the accusations. Spotify has been penny-pinching in other areas. It was reported last year that the company planned to overhaul its royalty model. One alleged part of that plan was to demonetize tracks earning less than five cents per month, pushing out some indie artists without established audiences. Spotify also laid off around 9,000 employees late last year, citing “the gap... Continue reading at 'Engadget'
[ Engadget | 2024-06-21 18:36:40 UTC ]
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Though results aren't what they used to be, sales still spiked for the first pick. Continue reading at Crains New York
[ Crains New York | 2012-06-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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#good news
After two years, Oprah Winfrey's highly influential book club is being revived, with "Wild," by Cheryl Strayed, as the first selection. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2012-06-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Rielle Hunter, who had an affair with John Edwards and later gave birth to their daughter, has written a book titled "What Really Happened: John Edwards, Our Daughter and Me.'' Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2012-06-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Waterstones m.d. James Daunt is planning to grow the number of the chain's stores, according... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-05-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Two months after obtaining a majority stake in the magazine, Chris Hughes, a co-founder of Facebook, is bringing back Franklin Foer as part of an ambitious plan to remake the magazine. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2012-05-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Despite a bill partially designed to stop this effort, the United States Post Service will move forward with its 9-month modified consolidation plan. The first step will consolidate 48 locations this summer, with larger-scale consolidation to follow at the start of 2013. Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2012-05-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In the May issue of the Slate Book Review, Meghan O’Rourke writes about Are You My Mother?, cartoonist Alison Bechdel’s therapy-fueled exploration of her relationship with her mom. Writes O’Rourke: Continue reading at Slate
[ Slate | 2012-05-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Pottermore ebook store sold £3m-worth of Harry Potter ebooks in its first month, the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-05-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Pearson increased sales by 11% to £1.16bn in the first three months of 2012, it announced... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-04-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Kobo will launch its self-publishing platform this quarter and plans on expanding to “a... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-04-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon is paying authors $1 for every audiobook they sell if they sign up to its Audible Author... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-04-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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While 2011 saw fewer announcements of layoffs and buyouts in the newspaper industry than previous years, attrition continued quietly and relentlessly, with the nation’s biggest newspaper publishers trimming their combined work forces by 7.2 ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2012-04-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The government has announced it is to accept all the 28 recommendations made in Mary Portas... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-03-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Group c.e.o of Hachette UK, Tim Hely Hutchinson, has told authors that substantial... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-03-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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LG has made no secret of its fondness for flexible e-paper, but those dreams became a reality today, with the announcement of a six-inch display that promises to "revolutionize the ebook market." The malleable plastic display sports a resolution of 1024 x 768 and can bend at an angle of up to 40... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2012-03-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Two thirds of UK online publishers are planning to increase the number of digital roles "on the back of product growth expectations", the Association of Online Publishers reported today, compared to 55 per cent which saw growth in 2011. Acco ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2012-03-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Encyclopaedia Britannica, the 244-year-old company, recently announced it would stop printing encyclopedias. Of course this triggered a flurry of talk about the end of printed books, magazines, and newspapers and a once-great company humbled by shifts in technology. But to fall into that... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2012-03-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publishing house Green World Media Ltd today announces the launch of its first title, Nigerian Watch, a free monthly newspaper aimed at Britain’s substantial Nigerian community. Nigerian Watch will meet the demand for an engaging publicati ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2012-03-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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E-bookseller Kobo plans to grow device sales in the UK with a strong marketing push towards the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-03-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Audible.com has persuaded stars such as Dustin Hoffman, Kate Winslet and Samuel L. Jackson to lend their voices to classic novels for the popular media format.When it came to reading a book out loud, Dustin Hoffman was a bit rusty. The last time he had done something similar was in New York City... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2012-03-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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