Somehow the idea that Amazon is “testing” Kindle Unlimited got inserted into early stories yesterday, and has been repeated through much follow-on coverage. This is not a test, people. A proper test would be a live, actual offer to a selected group of people, or for a clearly limited period of time. We still don’t know whether yesterday’s offering page that went live and then was pulled down was a glitch or an intentional glimpse, but it was not a test. We have reported multiple times, starting in early May, on discussions Amazon has had with publishers about their ebook subscription plans. […]
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eNews: Oyster App on Android; Crown Expands Blogging for Books; and More
Subscription ebook service Oyster has launched its Android app, Oyster for Android, available on Nook HD, Kindle Fire, and all other Android devices. The Crown Publishing Group has expanded its Blogging for Books initiative, which makes available both advance and finished print and digital copies to bloggers, across all imprints in eight categories: Fiction, Non-Fiction, Faith, Business, Cooking & Food, Better Living, Crafts, and Entertainment. The program was founded by Waterbrook Multnomah in 2009 and grew to a network of 12,000 bloggers, and has generated over 30,000 reviews. Ingram Publishing Services and Longleaf, launched in 2006 by the University of […]
Perseus Joins with Scribd
Following last week’s announcement that Simon & Schuster is making their backlist available to Scribd subscribers, at BEA Scribd announced an agreement with the Perseus Books Group as well. Perseus is providing “thousands of their amazing books to our readers,” and is the next largest publisher to participate after HarperCollins and S&S. Some people have been confused about the business terms Scribd presents to large publishers, even though we covered it last October when HarperCollins first explained their deal. As S&S reported to agents recently, authors “will receive their standard ebook royalty rate each time one of their books is read.” [After […]
And Then There Were Two: Simon & Schuster Puts Backlist On Subscription Services
Simon & Schuster announced that its entire ebook backlist, comprising over 10,000 titles, is available now through two of the leading ebook subscription services, Scribd and Oyster. The publisher’s participation “is global and will include backlist ebooks from Simon & Schuster companies worldwide, with ebooks made available to consumers in all countries where Simon & Schuster holds ebook rights, and where Oyster and Scribd offer their subscription services to consumers.” Books for S&S are customarily considered backlist one year after initial publication, and up to six months later if there is a second print publication. CEO Carolyn Reidy says in the announcement, “Consumers have […]
Acquisitions: McEvoy Buys Personalized Publisher, Kobo Adds More Sony Readers, Oyster Expands
The McEvoy Group has acquired Minneapolis–based personalized gifts and books publisher I See Me! from founders Maia and Allan Haag for an undisclosed sum. Owner of properties including Chronicle Books, McEvoy plans to use the acquisition to build upon Chronicle’s personalized books and gift line. “We’re excited to welcome I See Me! to our family of companies,” said The McEvoy Group founder and ceo Nion McEvoy in the announcement. “We believe that together with Chronicle Books’ growing personalized publishing program, MyChronicleBooks, we will provide the best and most innovative personalized publishing and gifts in the market.” The 14-year-old company will remain headquartered […]
eNews: Mondadori Takes Over Anobii, Plus Indie Links for LAT and A Rooster
Sainsbury’s has passed on the social network part of Anobii (a European Bookish, with all that implies), to Mondadori. Despite Anobii’s multi-year efforts to build a viable ebookstore focused on the UK, the site’s strength — if there was one — was an international audience centered in Asia (since it was founded in Hong Kong in 2006) and Italy (Anobii was run for many years by Italian-born Matteo Berlucchi). Mondadori says in the release that Anobii’s “strongest base” is Italy, “with 300,000 users.” Mondadori Group chief executive Ernesto Mauri says, “A platform that will enable us to listen to people is […]