Last week everyone was off to the races with speculation about what a settlement between big agency ebook publishers and the Justice Department might look like, but a measure of caution and patience is recommended on a number of fronts. Washington Post columnist Steve Pearlstein said over the weekend that settlement discussions “largely focus on two provisions of the publishers’ contract with Apple: one that prohibits the publishers from entering into ‘wholesale’ arrangements with Amazon or any other major distributor, and a second that guarantees that no other distributor will be allowed to sell books for less than Apple. It […]
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Google and Amazon Finish Playing with Each Other
It appears that Google Play’s 25-cent media offers were an introductory promotion rather than a standing feature, as the site tells visitors “today is the last day of our 7 Days to Play!” In ebooks, the promotion has been a boon to the selected titles, most because Kindle has matched the 25-cent pricing. Each of the designated ebooks took a turn in Kindle’s posted hourly top ten, and all five eligible ebooks appear on Kindle’s weekly bestseller list for the week ending 3/12, in this order: 3. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, by Jonathan Safran Foer 10. Fight Club, by […]
Beyond the Biggest Authors, Amazon Admits “Singles” Sales Are Quite Low
Laura Owen at PaidContent obtains some general statistics on Amazon Kindle sales over the past 14 months, which ratify our argument that–while interesting–both the form and this proprietary store are vastly overcovered. In 14 months, Amazon says sales are “over two million” units. With prices ranging from one to three dollars, that comprises gross sales of roughly $4 million, across 165 titles. The six bestselling Kindle Singles titles are in fact all non-exclusive works from established authors: Lee Child, Stephen King, David Baldacci, Dean Koontz. (Together they are likely to comprise over a quarter of those two million units by […]
Apple, Harper and Penguin Reply to Agency-Pricing Class Action Lawsuit
As negotiations reportedly continue between multiple publishers and the Department of Justice over possible modifications to the agency model for ebook sales, the lawsuit seeking class-action status in New York’s Southern District Court continues, with three of the plaintiffs filing responses to the allegations earlier this month. Apple, filing on March 2, took issue with the idea of any conspiracy between it and publishers, saying the original complaint “implausibly suggests Apple conspired with the publishers to address economic issues it was not facing, and coordinated actions it did not participate in.” That’s because, when the agency model was implemented in […]
How Vintage Landed Erotic Romance Trilogy ’50 Shades of Grey’
As the NYT reported over the weekend Vintage bought world English print, digital, and audio rights to republish EL James’ erotic romance trilogy 50 SHADES OF GREY, which has sold more than 250,000 units (predominantly in ebook format) and has become an increasingly prominent topic of conversation over the past few weeks. The republished ebook edition is available now, priced at $9.99, with trade paperbacks to follow in early April, priced at $15.95. Foreign rights auctions have concluded or are underway in a number of territories as well. In a telephone interview, Vintage evp and publisher Anne Messitte told us […]
Justice Department Said to Threaten Suit Over Agency eBook Pricing
The Wall Street Journal says that the Justice Department’s lengthy investigation of the agency model for ebook pricing has escalated, with the government threatening to sue the “Agency Five” publishers and Apple “for allegedly colluding to raise the price of electronic books, according to people familiar with the matter.” The paper says that “some but not all” of the publishers involved have held settlement talks with Justice. Those same people said “the Justice Department believes that Apple and the publishers acted in concert to raise prices across the industry, and is prepared to sue them for violating federal antitrust laws.” […]