Streaming of books threatens to sell readers down the river

Scholastic is the latest publisher to phase out downloading, meaning ebooks already purchased might become unreadableScholastic, the publisher of such children's book juggernauts as The Hunger Games and the Harry Potter series, announced recently that its Storia ebook shop would shortly be "transitioning" to a streaming model. What this means for its readers is that books they have already purchased might become unreadable. According to Scholastic's website: "The switch to streaming means that ebooks you've previously purchased may soon no longer be accessible." In one of those brilliant physical/digital metaphors that seem to sum up all of the confusion of virtual cultural objects, the site also says: "You may be able to continue using your ebooks by making sure to open them on a bookshelf at least once by 15 October."Unlike some previous depressing episodes in ebook licensing that also hit UK readers, such as Barnes & Noble's shutting-down of its ebook store Fictionwise in 2012, or Samsung's abrupt closure this year of Readers Hub, when many lost not only their books but also their notes and highlights, Scholastic is offering a year to claim refunds on lost books. Given the continued prevalence of digital rights management (DRM) software, intended to prevent digital piracy, this story is likely to continue for a while. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2014-08-10 00:00:00 UTC ]

Other news stories related to: "Streaming of books threatens to sell readers down the river"


Google, Barnes & Noble team up for same-day book deliveries

Google and Barnes & Noble, taking on their mutual rival Amazon.com, have paired up to offer same-day delivery of books purchased online. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2014-08-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Amazon Starts Monthly Subscription Service for Unlimited E-Books

Amazon introduced a $9.99- a-month service for unlimited Kindle ebook downloads, letting customers devour books like they binge on TV services like Netflix and Amazon Prime.Kindle Unlimited includes more than 600,000 Kindle books and thousands of audiobooks from Audible Inc., Amazon said today... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2014-07-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


US book publishers now make more money from online sales than physical stores

Brick-and-mortar book stores have clearly been on the decline for a while -- just look at Barnes & Noble's rocky finances. However, there's now some tangible evidence that the pendulum has swung in favor of internet-based sales. BookStats estimates... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2014-06-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Barnes & Noble Tries Again

Investors, as well as members of the book publishing industry who see the survival of Barnes & Noble as crucial to maintaining a healthy bookselling environment, were cheered last week when the retailer received board approval for separating its Retail and Nook Media businesses. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-06-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Barnes & Noble to spin off Nook tablets

Bookseller Barnes & Noble Inc said it would spin off its Nook tablets and college books business, sending its shares up about 8 percent in early trading. Continue reading at Baltimore Sun

[ Baltimore Sun | 2014-06-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


B&N to split off Nook business

Barnes & Noble is to separate its Nook Media and Retail businesses in a bid to increase... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-06-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Marissa Mayer: Marketers Need to Embrace Native Ads

CANNES, France—From magazines to TV, radio to newspapers, every medium has come to embrace native advertising. If Yahoo can leave its past behind, then surely advertisers can too. That was, more or less, Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer's advice to brands and advertisers attending the Cannes Lions... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2014-06-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Tablet partnership for Nook and Samsung

Barnes & Noble’s Nook has partnered with Samsung to build co-branded tablets. The... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-06-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


B&N Partners with Samsung for Tablets

Barnes & Noble has reached an agreement with Samsung for the technology giant to develop co-branded tablets that will include Nook software. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-06-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Protesters in Thailand Adopt Hunger Games Salute

Fans of the popular book and film franchise The Hunger Games will recognize the hand signal instantly: the middle three fingers of the hand, raised to the sky. A gesture of resistance against the repressive government in the fictional world of Panem, it has now become a very real symbol of... Continue reading at Wired

[ Wired | 2014-06-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Liberty Media Scales Back its B&N Holdings

Liberty Media Corp. has sold most of its stake in Barnes & Noble to what the company called “qualified institutional buyers.” Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-04-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Nook Press's Horner outlines Europe offer

Barnes & Noble’s Nook Press self-publishing platform will be available in the UK,... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-03-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


B&N Revises Microsoft Deal; Microsoft Consumer Reader Coming?

Barnes & Noble as disclosed some modifications to its agreement with Microsoft that will give B&N the option to not develop additional Nook Window apps. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-03-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


'Divergent' film company teams with Sephora for a makeup line (+video)

Sephora has released a makeup line based on the upcoming movie 'Divergent,' adapted from the young adult book of the same name by Veronica Roth. Fellow young adult franchise 'The Hunger Games' also had tie-in makeup products, as well as a clothing line. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-03-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


'Divergent' film company teams with Sephora for a makeup line

Sephora has released a makeup line based on the upcoming movie 'Divergent,' adapted from the young adult book of the same name by Veronica Roth. Fellow young adult franchise 'The Hunger Games' also had tie-in makeup products, as well as a clothing line. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-03-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Barnes & Noble: A Tale of Two Companies

The release of its third-quarter results for fiscal 2014 and the subsequent conference call with analysts on February 26 made it clearer than ever that Barnes & Noble executives are operating two companies with very different issues. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-03-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Women’s Budget-Conscious Magazine All You Is Stepping Outside of Walmart

Bargains aren’t just for Walmart shoppers anymore.    Starting in April, Time Inc.’s All You, the magazine for budget-conscious women, will be sold at stores outside the retail giant—the title’s sole newsstand distributor since launching 10 years ago. The exclusive deal with the world’s... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2014-02-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Is Barnes & Noble’s Nook Expanding to Brazil?

An email to Brazilian publishers suggested that Barnes & Noble plans to start selling ebooks in Brazil soon, but B&N has yet to confirm. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-02-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Sony turns the page on ebooks in North America

The PC business isn’t the only one Sony will abandon. The electronics giant is also closing the books on its North American ebook efforts.“Wait,” you’re probably saying after reading that sentence: “Sony was making an ebook effort in North America?”And you know, that’s pretty hurtful.Still, you... Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2014-02-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


James Frey wins $2m deal for young adult SF novel

Endgame, by the controversial author of A Million Little Pieces, sold in joint publishing and film dealJames Frey, best known for his partially-fabricated memoir A Million Little Pieces, has landed a reported $2m (£1.2m) film deal for his latest novel, a Hunger Games/Battle Royale-esque story... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-01-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this