Random House announced their library ebook pricing, effective as of March 1, which will dampen some of the enthusiasm for the house’s commitment to the “unrestricted and perpetual availability of our complete frontlist and backlist of Random House, Inc.” in ebook form. The new prices, which librarians tell The Digital Shift represent up to a tripling, are calibrated to “bring our titles in price-point symmetry with our Books on Tape audio book downloads for library lending. These long have carried a considerably higher purchase price point than our digital audio books purchased for individual consumption.” The new price structure for […]
eNews
Random House Canada Moves to Agency Model
Exactly a year after Random House started selling ebooks on the agency model in the US, Random House Canada has done likewise, effective March 1. The company said in a brief announcement, “The agency model guarantees a higher margin for retailers than did our previous sales terms. We are making this change both as an investment in the successful digital transition of our existing partners and in order to give us the opportunity to forge new retail relationships. We are looking forward to continuing to work with all our retail partners – both digital and physical – on our joint […]
eNews:Skoobe eBook Subscription Service in Germany; Penguin and The Economist Join Forces for Digital Shorts;
In Germany, von Holtzbrinck and Verlagsgruppe Random House are backing a new ebook subscription venture, Skoobe, where customers pay 9.99 euros a month to borrow 2 ebooks in that 30-day period (with unlimited access to all content only between now and March 1, 2013.) Publishers supplying content so far include Droemer, DVA, Fischer, Goldmann, Heyne, Kiepenheuer & Witsch, Lübbe, Luchterhand and Rowohlt. The Skoobe app is available for free for iOS devices, with an Android version to come at a later date. Penguin and the Economist (both owned by Pearson) are joining forces to publish a collection of reports entitled […]
Two Distributors Do Sign with Kindle–And Pay eBook Coop
While IPG remains in what could be a long-standing contractual disagreement with Amazon over wholesale terms for their clients–and their approximately 4,500 ebooks remain unavailable for sale on Kindle–two other independent distributors of scale did both come to terms with Amazon in the past week or so. Both the Perseus Books Group and National Book Network (NBN) reported to their respective clients on the new terms arrived for ebooks. Those new contracts were some time in the making; one of the two told clients they “entered into negotiations with Amazon in October of last year and have only just concluded […]
Corporate: Open Road to Distribute Through Ingram
Open Road, which has been working with Ingram to make some of their print-on-demand editions available on the Espresso book machine, has struck a larger relationship in which Lightning Source will manufacture their titles available for POD and Ingram Publisher Services will sell and distribute those books, starting in March. Open Road has print rights to their line of ebook originals (roughly 15 to 20 titles a year), as well as a small number of previously out-of-print titles. The new relationship will start with about 20 books.
Google to Restore Indie Affiliates After Mistaken Notice
Google eBooks recently notified some of their affiliates that their relationship was being terminated. Shortly thereafter, Google told some of those affiliates–mainly independent booksellers, including some ABA members who do not use the Indie Commerce service–that they were removed erroneously from the program and would be reinstated. A Google spokesperson told us Tuesday, “We did not intend to deactivate independent booksellers from the Google eBooks affiliate program and are working to reinstate those who were mistakenly notified. We apologize for any inconvenience.” People can ask to participate by e-mailing ebooks-affiliates@google.com. Google had opened the program to “retailers, bloggers, book publishers and other […]