On August 23, Amazon filed a brief with the US Supreme Court, asking it to hear their challenge to New York’s 2008 law requiring the etailer to collect sales tax in the state due to their network of online affiliates (Amazon Associates). The New York Court of Appeals upheld the law in a ruling in March 2013. The company hired former Solicitor General Ted Olson, now at the Washington, DC office of Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, who filed the petition, to represent them in the matter. (Irony alert: Apple’s lead law firm in the ebook pricing cases is the New […]
eNews
Kobo Expands Device Line
At an event in Manhattan Tuesday night, Kobo introduced a revised and expanded line of devices along with a variety of feature innovations, all under the positioning that “Kobo stands for those who love to read.” As ceo Mike Serbinis said, “we are focused on the reader.” Their surprisingly-successful “high end” eInk reader the Aura, introduced in April, will launch in a new model available for pre-order now and on sale September 16. At $149 it’s $20 less expensive, and the company says it’s thinner and lighter. An expanded tablet line will offer 3 models instead of just one. They […]
AAP Trade Sales Fell 12 Percent in April; eBooks Actually Dropped 13.5 Percent
The AAP released their Stat Shot sales data for April, collected from approximately 1,200 publishers. With difficult comparisons to a year ago, when Hunger Games was still hot and the Fifty Shades series was just taking off for Vintage, the numbers show declines across the board. Overall trade sales of $490 million were down 12 percent from the previous year. The number that will draw the most remarks is the ebook sales total for the month of $120.5 million, down 13.5 percent compared to 2012, a rare decline for that closely-watched category. But a closer look shows how the drops […]
Nook Is Back to Making Their Own Color Devices
In a rather startling conference call with investors on Tuesday, Barnes & Noble’s current ranking executive Michael Huseby executed another turnabout on the company’s strategy for color devices, while blaming others for misunderstanding rather than simply admitting another change in direction. Huseby insisted that when BN said on June 25 that going forward their color devices would be produced by others, “many people interpreted [the] comments incorrectly,” but their statement stated sounded pretty clear: “The company plans to significantly reduce losses in the Nook segment by limiting risks associated with manufacturing. Going forward, the company intends to continue to design […]
People, Etc.: Elmore Leonard Dies, and More
Elmore Leonard, 87, author of more than 40 novels who helped redefine the crime genre over the past four decades, died Tuesday morning at his home outside of Detroit from complications of a stroke he suffered earlier this month. His novels, many of which were the basis of successful film and television adaptations, included GET SHORTY, RUM PUNCH, 3:10 to YUMA, OUT OF SIGHT and, most recently, RAYLAN, and the Library of America had recently announced plans to publish the first of a three-volume collection of his books beginning in fall 2014. As part of S&S Children’s reorganization of its […]
Briefs: More Funding for Open Road; Commonwealth Book Prize Discontinued; And More
Open Road Integrated Media announced it has received $11 million in Series C funding led by private equity group NewSpring Capital (whose technology fund NewSpring Growth Capital III supplied $8 million) with existing investors Kohlberg Ventures, Azure Capital, and Golden Seeds joining NewSpring in the financing, bringing the total amount Open Road has raised to $24 million. On Open Road’s blog ceo Jane Friedman said the new funding will be used for new technology, additional revenue streams, expand their International Publishing Partners Translation Program (which includes 8 partners to date) and further investment in “appropriate content and technology companies.” Andrea […]