The Great E-book War
source: http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2010-02-06/the-great-e-book-war/?cid=topic:ma...
-
-
- Future_America
- added this
Books were pulled from Amazon this week in a dispute with publishers over the price of e-books. Why the book industry is making the same mistake as the record labels.
A long-running dispute between Amazon.com and the publishing industry turned into all-out corporate war this week, complete with boycott threats, irritated authors, and the hasty removal of a publisher's entire catalog from Amazon's shelves. The matter at hand: e-book pricing.
The ugly chain of events followed Apple's announcement of its own e-book store for the iPad on January 27. After partnering with Apple, major publishers descended upon Amazon's Seattle headquarters to demand a big concession from the online retailer: the ability to set their own prices for e-books. For new releases, the publishers plan to raise those prices to $12.99 or $14.99, a hefty increase from the $9.99 Amazon presently charges for most books.
For many people who buy e-books for their convenience, though, the choice isn't between buying an e-book or a physical book, but rather between buying an e-book or no book at all.
While the issue is a fairly mundane pricing disagreement, its results will be felt by anyone who buys an e-book, including both future iPad owners and the projected 3 million consumers who will purchase Amazon's e-book reader, the Kindle, this year.
The skirmish has also revealed the publishing industry's grand strategy for e-books: discourage people from buying them. With physical book sales declining and e-books going gangbusters, publishers worry that Amazon's $9.99 e-books are cutting into sales of new hardcovers. The industry's latest maneuver, then, is a move expressly intended to protect its traditional business. Whether it will also evolve into an actual strategy for e-books remains to be seen.
A long-running dispute between Amazon.com and the publishing industry turned into all-out corporate war this week, complete with boycott threats, irritated authors, and the hasty removal of a publisher's entire catalog from Amazon's shelves. The matter at hand: e-book pricing.
The ugly chain of events followed Apple's announcement of its own e-book store for the iPad on January 27. After partnering with Apple, major publishers descended upon Amazon's Seattle headquarters to demand a big concession from the online retailer: the ability to set their own prices for e-books. For new releases, the publishers plan to raise those prices to $12.99 or $14.99, a hefty increase from the $9.99 Amazon presently charges for most books.
For many people who buy e-books for their convenience, though, the choice isn't between buying an e-book or a physical book, but rather between buying an e-book or no book at all.
While the issue is a fairly mundane pricing disagreement, its results will be felt by anyone who buys an e-book, including both future iPad owners and the projected 3 million consumers who will purchase Amazon's e-book reader, the Kindle, this year.
The skirmish has also revealed the publishing industry's grand strategy for e-books: discourage people from buying them. With physical book sales declining and e-books going gangbusters, publishers worry that Amazon's $9.99 e-books are cutting into sales of new hardcovers. The industry's latest maneuver, then, is a move expressly intended to protect its traditional business. Whether it will also evolve into an actual strategy for e-books remains to be seen.
-
- groups:
- Tech, Technology, books, Writer's Corner, 3 more
-
- tags:
- Tech, Technology, Books, ipad, 3 more
-
-
Brendan_Clarke
-
I must be in a minority of people who actually want to buy physical books then.
- 2 years ago
-
Brendan_Clarke
