In other social online opportunities, Food52, a social site for cooks founded by Amanda Hesser and Merrill Stubbs in 2009, has closed a $2 million round of financing in which Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments is a significant participant. Among their plans is “expanding our publishing platform through an innovative partnership with Random House Inc.” VP business development at the Crown publishing group Ranjana Wingender says, “We are excited to welcome the Food52 investment as part of the Bertelsmann Family – we at Random House have long considered them a leader not just in food content but also as a community of writers.” […]
Archives for March 2013
As Amazon Buys Goodreads, Some Look to Alternatives
The basics have been well reported within minutes of Amazon’s announcement on Thursday after the close the of market. In what is widely recognized as a very smart move by the retailer, they have an agreement to acquire Goodreads for an undisclosed sum. Goodreads was backed by venture capitalist True Ventures, so it was going to be sold to someone. Started seven years ago, the social network for books had been interviewing experienced publishing executives in recent months as part of an exploration of selling books directly from the site to their 16 million members. Goodreads and its staff of […]
Briefs: Changing Hands To Open Second Location in Phoenix; NYS Court Affirms That Amazon Must Pay Sales Tax
Changing Hands Bookstore in Tempe, AZ has finalized plans to open a second store in Phoenix in early November, co-owner Gayle Shanks said on the store’s website. The new location has been in the works since last year, according to Phoenix Business Journal, and the bookstore will partner with Phoenix-based real estate firm Venue Projects (“whose mission is to create inspiring places that serve and celebrate nature while promoting community”), the Beckett’s Table restaurant restaurant group, and a company focused on meeting and event space for mobile professionals to redevelop the space, formerly occupied by a restaurant. They are working […]
Amazon Acquires Goodreads
In what appears to be a definitive strike in consolidating online book discovery under one virtual roof, Amazon announced Thursday afternoon that it acquired Goodreads for an undisclosed sum. The company’s headquarters are expected to remain in San Francisco with the deal set to close in the second quarter of 2013 subject to various closing conditions. Founded in 2006 by Otis Chandler, Goodreads boasts more than 16 million members — vaulting it ahead of Shelfari (which Amazon acquired in 2008), LibraryThing (in which Amazon has a stake after buying AbeBooks in 2008), and Bookish, which finally opened for business earlier […]
Harper and Open Road Reiterate Arguments, Ask for Summary Judgment
At the beginning of last week, on March 18, both HarperCollins and Open Road filed motions for summary judgment in the case questioning whether Harper controls the right to publish an ebook edition of Jean Craighead George’s JULIE OF THE WOLVES. The two sides agree on one, and only one, point: that the original contract is unambiguous, and judgment in their favor should be granted without further argument. And this is why electronic rights to older books are more generally classified as “in dispute.” Both sides present experts to help interpret the 1971 agreement and the state of electronic rights […]
Penguin to Allow Libraries to Lend New eBook Releases
Penguin will lift their six-month windowing on new hardcover releases for libraries, allowing libraries to purchase/license and lend those titles immediately upon publication. Director of online sales and marketing Tim McCall tells the AP it’s an evolution of their lending experiments (under which they have been working with 3M and Baker & Taylor). “We feel that we’re ready to take the next step and offer what consumers and libraries have been asking for.” Penguin sells ebooks to libraries at the consumer ebook price, for one-at-a-time lending for one year only. Their soon-to-be partners at Random House offer ebooks to a […]