As you may have noticed, we recently expanded our Dealmakers pages with the addition of a “sales” tab. For the agents and other publishing professionals who get annual Bookscan service through PM, this new feature displays actual Bookscan and PubTrack Digital sales data within tens of thousands of deal records, unlocking a significant body of data and putting it in context. It also makes a wealth of Bookscan data more accessible by embedding it in our interface. Beyond that, all PM members get to benefit from this capability. While only our Bookscan subscribers can see the actual data, the new […]
Judge Finalizes Order Finding Maryland’s Library eBook Lending Law Unconstitutional, with No Need for A Permanent Injunction
Federal Judge Deborah L. Boardman finalized her order granting declaratory judgment in favor of the AAP, declaring the state of Maryland’s library ebook lending “unconstitutional and unenforceable because it conflicts with and is preempted by the Copyright Act…. The Maryland Act is unconstitutional and unenforceable.” At the same time, Judge Boardman found that “such declaratory relief obviates the need for a permanent injunction” in addition, even though the AAP had argued for that additional measure. The order follows the judge’s quick imposition of a temporary injunction blocking the Maryland law in February. In her reasoning, Judge Boardman agreed with the […]
UTA to Acquire Curtis Brown UK
United Talent Agency (UTA) announced Monday that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Curtis Brown UK, which will continue to operate under its current name, still run by ceo Jonny Geller. The announcement proclaims, “This structure will allow both Curtis Brown Group and UTA to continue their fruitful and longstanding relationships with other agency partners in the UK and US,” though that is ultimately up to those other agencies who use UTA and Curtis Brown as a sub-agent. Curtis Brown UK has over 240 employees across all divisions, including its production arms, and “is expected to continue to […]
James Patterson Speaks
James Patterson spoke to The Times in promoting his recently-released memoir: “Today, though, he worries that it is hard for white men to get writing gigs in film, theatre, TV or publishing. “The problem is ‘just another form of racism. What’s that all about?’ he muses. ‘Can you get a job? Yes. Is it harder? Yes. It’s even harder for older writers. You don’t meet many 52-year-old white males.’ “Patterson disapproves of actors and public figures spouting off ignorantly about subjects they have gleaned off the internet, but says, ‘I’m almost always on the side of free speech.’ He was […]
NYT Begins to Clarify Reporting that Relates to Book Research, Continues to “Prioritize Newsworthy Information” For Readers
Ever since Bob Woodward waited until the September release of his book RAGE to break the news that he first learned in February 2020 Donald Trump already knew Covid-19 was far deadlier than the flu — even as he was publicly dismissing Covid-19 as a non-issue — media critics and general readers have been increasingly questioning similar instances in which timely and relevant information is uncovered by journalists but held for publication until their books release. So it’s a potential bellwether initiative that the New York Times is more actively evaluating when and how to share and contextualize book-related reporting […]
What Ingram Learned Studying 150,000 Titles on Amazon for Three Years
The Ingram Consumer Insights team has a terrific analysis detailing observations from studying the sales of 150,000 titles on Amazon over a three-year period. They chart how Amazon’s “lost” buy boxes for books (which send preferred sales to third-parties) directly correlate to supply chain issues, from the onset of the pandemic to periods of printing shortages. (Unfortunately the study period ends in August 2021, so it does not show us the most recent holiday selling season or any other recent changes.) In normal times, about 25 percent of buy boxes go to third-parties — though the leading winner of those […]