We have a few more documents from the Apple ebook pricing trial of interest to share, though they do not relate directly to yesterday’s testimony. No one from Barnes & Noble has testified in court yet (at one point Teresa Horner was due to be called as a defense witness). One of the threads of Apple’s argument is that publishers (including Hachette) as well as other retailers (primarily Barnes & Noble) were readying plans to move to an agency model with or without Apple — and prior to executing Apple contracts. This defense exhibit is an email from BN ceo […]
Archives for June 2013
People, Etc.
Tim Ditlow has left Amazon Children’s, where he was associate publisher (after working for Amazon-owned Brilliance Audio since 2008). Michelle Nagler will join Random House Children’s Books on July 15 as associate publishing director for the Random House/Golden Books group, reporting to Mallory Loehr. Nagler is currently editorial director at Bloomsbury Children’s. Editorial director for Stepping Stones Jennifer Arena; executive editor Shana Corey, and associate editor and Chelsea Eberly will report to Nagler going forward. Harper Christian has created a Zondervan Gift Books unit, which “indicates Zondervan’s intention to place a strong focus on inspirational gift books, devotionals and journals. […]
From Court: States Say What They Want From Apple; DOJ Moves for Macmillan Settlement Approval
In a letter to Judge Cote posted to the court docket on June 12, assistant attorney general for the State of Texas David Ashton responded to Apple’s request earlier in the week — one that mirrored our own — as to what, exactly, the states want out of the ongoing trial. Ashton said the states are “well aware the Court will decide only issues of liability and injunctive relief as part of the trial, and do not seek relief different than that sought from the Department of Justice.” Mostly they want a judgment that sets them up to seek money […]
Springer Decides on IPO; Pottermore Offers More
The longstanding efforts by private equity owners EQT and the Singaporean sovereign-wealth fund to sell Springer Science have taken yet another twist. They will walk away from BC Partners’ recent offer to buy the entire company for approximately €3.1 billion, and instead will go ahead with the long-contemplated IPO. The WSJ says that share offering “could value Springer Science at more than €3 billion, people familiar with the matter have said previously” — as well it should if they turned down that sum as a full buyout. They have been trying, since last fall, to get a valuation of closer […]
In Court: Cue Takes the Stand
Apple executive Eddy Cue took the stand Thursday morning to answer questions about his negotiations with the five settling publishers and offer his version of how Apple came to agency model and what they expected from publishers. (As an aside, Cue too came in court attire, rather than his standard jeans and casual shirt–to be honest, the grey suit and white shirt is a much better look than his standard “dress like Steve” uniform.) Government lawyer Lawrence Buterman immediately tried to challenge Cue’s assertions that he “learned for the first time about allegations of publisher meetings, phonecalls and dinners” only “after […]
From Court: Random House and Apple, In Documents
With the distinct possibility that no one from Random House will be put on the stand in the Apple ebook pricing trial, the documents depicting the publisher’s discussions of different business model possibilities with Apple could take on increasing importance. As Apple’s Keith Moerer testified on Tuesday, Random House was the one company he personally told that “Apple was willing to do an agency deal with Random House and that Random House was free to do business, including a wholesale model, without holdbacks with any other retailer that they might choose to do so.” Here are some of the key […]