Spotify’s Basic plan returns to $11 a month by cutting audiobooks

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 ]
News tagged with: #association asked #audiobook integration #increase profits #deceiving consumers #$150 million #audiobook fusion #royalty model #alleged part #indie artists #established audiences #audiobook-free tier #account page #picking basic #basic option #audiobook

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Anthony Cheetham out at Atlantic, already planning new venture

Written By: Philip Jones Publication Date: Fri, 01/07/2011 - 11:46 Anthony Cheetham has left Atlantic Books and resigned as a director of the company. It is understood that Cheetham left the publisher yesterday (30th June) with a memo circulated internally announcing his departure. His role... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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"Spotify for books" service launches

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Thu, 30/06/2011 - 15:58 An online view-on-demand books service dubbed “the Spotify of books” has launched today. 24symbols, created by a Spanish team co-founded by Justo Hidalgo, is offering access to 1,000 book titles for a subscription fee. The... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #read books #service launches #launched today #justo hidalgo #offering access #offers customers


Booktrust puts three prizes on hold due to funding cuts

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Tue, 28/06/2011 - 11:18 Booktrust has suspended the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize, Booktrust Early Years Award and Booktrust Teenage Prize for 2011, blaming funding cuts. The book charity said it hopes to bring them "back with a bang next year", so... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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US e-reader ownership doubles in six months

Written By: Bookseller Staff Publication Date: Tue, 28/06/2011 - 09:15 E-reader ownership in the US has doubled over the past six months, the first time ownership of e-readers has reached double digits among US adults. According to a report carried out by the Pew Internet Project, the share of... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Borders cuts losses as suitors circle

Written By: Bookseller Staff Publication Date: Wed, 22/06/2011 - 09:15 Borders has cut its net losses by almost $100m (£61.7m) in May as two "buyout moguls" have emerged as contenders to take over the business. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Six shortlisted as Royal Society kids' book prize returns

Written By: Rachel Bradley Publication Date: Fri, 17/06/2011 - 08:07 A guide to astronomy and a pop-up guide to how the world works are among the shortlisted titles for the first Royal Society Young People's Book Prize in three years. The £10,000 prize was not awarded between 2008 and 2010 due... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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BCA plans for 30% growth in next year

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Fri, 10/06/2011 - 08:23 Book Club Associates has announced plans for 30% growth over the next year after it was bought by the Webb Group in a deal which could potentially see its books sold through Next and Grattan retail catalogues. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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HC plans a summer of love for Harriet Evans

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Fri, 03/06/2011 - 08:40 HarperCollins is giving Harriet Evans' backlist a "summery" look as it plans its biggest ever campaign for the paperback release of her latest novel later this month. Love Always will be published in paperback and ebook on 23rd... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Canongate plans ebook giveaway for Brooks

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Fri, 03/06/2011 - 14:47 Canongate is planning to give a limited number of free ebook copies of Grow Up, the debut novel by 19-year-old Ben Brooks, ahead of its paperback publication in July. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Google Settlement revision due next month

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Thu, 02/06/2011 - 13:02 Google, American publishers and the US Authors Guild have been given until next month to revise a book-scanning agreement for out of print titles and orphan works. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon's Publishing Plans Cause Rivals Some Unease

Earlier in the week, Amazon announced that it was hiring Laurence Kirshbaum, the former CEO of Time Warner Book Group, to head a new publishing imprint. This seems like an odd time for Amazon to be making its mark on the pubishing industry: book sales are down, major book chains like Borders are... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2011-05-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Oxfordshire scraps December library cuts

Written By: Benedicte Page Publication Date: Mon, 23/05/2011 - 15:45 Oxfordshire council has confirmed it will not withdraw funding from libraries at the end of this year. Under plans unveiled in 2010, 20 libraries in the county were due to lose all funding at the end of December. While a... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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WBN giveaway to be cut to 500,000 books

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Tue, 17/05/2011 - 15:59 World Book Night in 2012 will see 500,000 rather than 1m books given away, WBN founder Jamie Byng told Book Industry Conference (BIC) delegates this morning, as he also discussed incorporating digital and audio elements... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Australia's Fairfax Media to Cut 82 Fulltime Jobs

The company is pushing ahead with plans to outsource sub-editor and designer positions, despite stop-work meetings held by staffers. Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2011-05-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Blackwell cuts 19 from library supply business

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Tue, 10/05/2011 - 14:19 Blackwell has today (10th May) axed 19 head office jobs from its library supply team. The staff, who are all based at the Blackwell headquarters in Oxfordshire, were told today they will be made redundant as of 1st July. read... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Waterstone's plans ebook push for post-HMV era

Written By: Benedicte Page Publication Date: Tue, 10/05/2011 - 15:49 Waterstone's could soon bring e-reading front of store in its physical bookshops in a manner similar to Barnes & Noble with its Nook in the US, according to e-commerce manager Alex Ingrams. Speaking to delegates at the... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Conde Nast Reportedly Plans iPad Magazine Subscriptions

The New Yorker is expected to be the first in-app publication to be offered as more than a single issue sale. Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2011-05-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publishers Make a Plan: A ‘One Stop’ Book Site

In starting Bookish.com, Simon & Schuster, Penguin Group USA and Hachette Book Group hope to provide one-stop shopping for books and information about authors. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2011-05-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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EU consumer law could change returns period

Written By: Benedicte Page Publication Date: Fri, 06/05/2011 - 08:43 A London MEP has called on the EU Commission to intervene in a consumer directive which would double the amount of time customers have to return books, which he claims would increase paperwork and cost booksellers money. The... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Barnes & Noble Plans New E-Book Reader [Voices]

Barnes & Noble Inc. will unveil a new electronic book reader later this month, the bookseller told analysts and investors on Wednesday, according to a federal filing released after the close of trading. Continue reading at AllThingsD

[ AllThingsD | 2011-05-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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