E-books: Publishing Business
E-books: Pricing: General
- possible price points: free, $0.99, $2.99, $9.99, ... ?
- why are E-books still relatively expensive? publisher overhead (offices, executives, ...)?
- monopsony: Amazon discounting
- subscription models, e.g., Amazon Prime; serialization
- Little Sign of a Predicted E-Book Price War less 'showrooming' due to store closures; compensation for hardware losses?; 12/23/2012
- BitTorrent Book Promotion Drives 40% Of Downloaders To Book's Amazon Page 12/3/2012
- Amazon's Diminishing Discounts 11/22/2012
- ValoBox launches pay-by-the-piece ebooks with O?Reilly and Guardian readers pay for ebooks in chunks (chapters, pages) that they can read on the web; 10/26/2012
- Traditional Publisher Ebook Pricing Harming Authors' Careers When we look at the $2.99 price point compared to $9.99, $2.99 earns the author slightly more, yet gains the author about four times as many readers. $2.99 ebooks earned the authors six times as many readers than books priced over $10.; 8/9/2012
- Ebook site Unglue.it hits bump after Amazon ends crowdfunding payment support Creative Commons Books; 8/9/2012
- Author Using Kickstarter To Offer His Book To The Public Domain, And Help Other Creators To Do The Same 6/6/2012
- Nobody Cares About The Fixed Costs Of Your Book, Movie, Whatever 5/4/2012
- Paulo Coehlo Convinces His Publisher To Offer (Almost) All Of His Ebooks For $0.99 5/2/2012
- Friday Night Lights author caught by Amazon e-book rules Bissinger hurt by Apple, Amazon 'no-lower-price' war; 4/30/2012
- If Publishers Can't Cover Their Costs With $10 Ebooks, Then They Deserve To Go Out Of Business 4/17/2012
- Amazon?s E-Book Pricing a Constant Thorn for Publishers predatory pricing, esp. for small publishers; 4/15/2012
- So how much is a fair price to pay for an e-book? (many believe <$10); 2/24/2012
- (Brazilian) Vending Machine Sells (paper) Books For Whatever Price You Want 2/21/2012
- Buy a paper book from ChiZine Publications, get a free ebook! 1/11/2012
- Ebooks must stay fat with VAT, blame the EU, MPs told 12/13/2011
- European E-Book Sales Hampered by Tax Structure (VAT much lower on printed books) 12/2/2011
- Ray Bradbury Discovers The Internet Is Real After All; Publishers Force Him To Offer Ridiculously Overpriced Ebooks (Fahrenheit 451 was about importance of physical books); 11/29/2011
- Publishing Still Doesn?t Get It (quality; subscriptions); 11/19/2011
- The newsonomics of Amazon?s Prime moves (quasi-subscriptions); 11/17/2011
- E-Publishing The Chinese Way: Very Fast And Very Cheap (serials); 11/8/2011
- What happens to ownership as the world goes digital? 11/4/2011
- Amazon Lights the Fire With Free Books (Kindle Lending Library); 11/3/2011
- What happens to books when the Kindle is free? 10/5/2011
- Are $0.99 Kindle E-books a good idea? 6/23/2011
- 99 Cent Books (all, in 5 years?) 3/7/2011
- A Word Of Caution About Those E-Book Versus Hardback Book Statistics (pricing); 7/20/2010
- No Ink, No Paper: What's The Value Of An E-Book? 3/12/2010
- Some E-Books Are More Equal Than Others (Orwellian: Amazon removing purchased E-books); 7/17/2009
- Text to Speech and E-books 2/2009
E-books: Price Fixing, Monopoly
- major DOJ (Dept. of Justice) and EU lawsuits focused on collusion (Apple & publishers) rather than monopoly (Amazon)
- agency pricing: vendor takes a 30% cut of each sale -- used by Apple, with Hachette, Simon & Schuster, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Penguin
- wholesale model: discounted prices -- used by Amazon
- which is better for consumers? in the short-term: lower costs? in the long-term: fewer publishers?
- which is better for authors? for publishers?
- Penguin settles with Department of Justice in ebook pricing case 12/18/2012
- In Europe, Publishers Dealt a Setback Over e-Book Pricing 12/13/2012
- Apple e-book settlement with EU will allow Amazon to set prices 12/13/2012
- You?re About to Get Some Money Back on Your Kindle Books 10/13/2012
- E-book Readers - Attorney General Settlement iTunes credit; 10/13/2012
- Apple and publishers subpoena Amazon in ebook pricing case 9/20/2012
- Big Win For Amazon, B&N In Europe: Apple, Four Big Publishers Terminate Their Agency Deal 9/19/2012
- Agreement Could End Europe?s E-Book Price-Fixing Inquiry 9/19/2012
- That was fast: Amazon is already discounting settling publishers? ebooks 9/10/2012
- Judge Approves E-Book Pricing Settlement Between Government and Publishers Hachette, Simon & Schuster and HarperCollins; 9/6/2012
- What the ebook settlement means for publishers, Apple and you States; 8/31/2012
- Apple, publishers offer antitrust EU concessions 8/31/2012
- States reach $69 million ebook pricing settlement with publishers HarperCollins, Hachette and Simon & Schuster: 4/2010-5/2012; 8/29/2012
- Authors group, licensing expert slam DOJ's e-book settlement Parties cite Amazon investigation, bad DOJ market analysis; file amicus curiae briefs; 8/29/2012
- DOJ compares Apple and publishers to big oil in ebooks case 'unmistakable' harm; 8/23/2012
- Apple bashes Amazon and proposed ebook settlement Apple says the DOJ?s proposed settlement with three publishers is unlawful because it requires Apple ? which is not settling ? to terminate its contracts with those publishers. A trial is needed, Apple says, as well as more scrutiny of Amazon?s role in the lawsuit; 8/15/2012
- Justice Department slams Apple, refuses to modify e-book settlement 7/23/2012
- Amazon's the villain, not Apple, book sellers say 7/23/2012
- Memo (from Sen. Charles Schumer) to DOJ: Drop the Apple E-Books Suit Restoring Amazon's monopoly in digital publishing is not in the public interest; 7/17/2012
- U.S. judge sets 2013 trial date for Apple e-book lawsuit 6/22/2012
- Barnes & Noble Argues Book Settlement ?Punishes Consumers? 6/7/2012
- Apple: publishers "expressed varying degrees of unhappiness" with Amazon Says its agreements with e-book publishers are similar, but not identical; 5/30/2012
- Apple says DoJ "sides with monopoly, rather than competition" Apple takes credit for breaking Amazon's "nearly absolute" control over e-books; 5/24/2012
- Why Apple needs to settle its e-book suits 5/23/2012
- Simon & Schuster settles with states in price fixing suit federal complaint dropped, civil suit pending; 5/17/2012
- As 17 more states join class action against book publishers and Apple, new details revealed 5/14/2012
- How Apple's Agency Model for Publishers Fails to Merit Collusion Charges 4/23/2012
- Apple wants trial on e-book price-fixing 4/18/2012
- Apple vs. Amazon: Who's the real price-fixer? 4/17/2012
- Book Publishing?s Real Nemesis Amazon's low prices disguise a high cost; 4/16/2012
- What's the future of e-book pricing? after DOJ (Dept. of Justice) suit; 4/13/2012
- Antitrust and ebooks: regulators miss the big DRM lock-in picture (platform restrictions; in-app purchases); 4/12/2012
- Barnes & Noble Hit Hard stock down on fear of aggressive discounting of best-selling e-books by Amazon; 4/13/2012
- Apple Not Likely to Be a Loser in the E-Book Legal Fight small financial impact; 4/12/2012
- Apple rebuffs DOJ e-book suit, says Amazon was monopoly however, DOJ conspiracy case does not have to show adverse effects on consumers; 4/12/2012
- DOJ is likely to lose e-book antitrust suit targeting Apple Antitrust experts say feds have "far better case" for price fixing against publishers, three of which have settled, than they do against Apple.; 4/12/2012
- Cut in E-Book Pricing by Amazon Is Set to Shake Rivals ($14.99 => $9.99? increase monopoly); 4/11/2012
- Inside the DOJ's ebook price-fixing case against Apple: an analysis 4/11/2012
- U.S. Alleges E-Book Scheme Lawsuit Says Apple, Publishers Colluded to Raise Prices; Three Will Settle (HarperCollins; Hachette; Simon & Schuster; leaving Macmillan, Penguin and Apple); The case centers around a deal to switch to agency pricing, where the vendor takes a 30 percent cut of each sale rather than the wholesale model (used by Amazon) which allows stores to sell books at rock-bottom prices; 4/11/2012
- The e-book wars: Who is less evil, Amazon or book publishers? 4/11/2012
- Consumer group: E-book price fixing costs big bucks ($200 million in 2012); 4/9/2012
- An Amazon.com power grab? (it wants deeper discounts from small presses); 4/8/2012
- Apple Antitrust Suit Would Aid Amazon Book Monopoly (Turow, Pres. of Authors' Guild); 3/21/2012
- EU open to settlement with e-book publishers 3/12/2012
- Ebooks: Defending the Agency Model (comparison to Wholesale Model); 3/11/2012
- Author's Guild Boss On E-Book Price Fixing Allegations 3/10/2012
- Apple Downplays Role Of ?Kindle Threat? In Alleged e-Book Conspiracy 3/8/2012
E-books: Censorship, Inequality
E-books: Copyright, DRM (Digital Rights Management), Piracy
- copyright has been strengthened via lobbying to avoid disruption of current monopolies
- eBook publishers following in the footsteps of music and movie industries?
- "fair use" rights often reduced due to FUD (fear, uncertainty, doubt) -- and poor laws
- "ownership" of media? read the fine print
- DRM, arbitrary delays and use restrictions have unintended consequences such as piracy and denial of access to disabled
- readers may reward publishers who eliminate DRM and barriers
- So, What Didn't Enter The Public Domain This Week, That Should Have 1/2/2013
- The music industry dropped DRM years ago. So why does it persist on e-books? Experts say it may have to do with the size of the two markets, for one thing; 12/24/2012
- Google presses fair use case in book scanning appeal 11/12/2012
- No, Copyright Is Not A Human Right 10/26/2012
- Turns Out When Random House Said Libraries 'Own' Their Ebooks, It Meant, 'No, They Don't Own Them' 10/24/2012
- A healthy reminder from Amazon: You don?t buy ebooks, you rent them 10/22/2012
- Amazon Wipes Customer's Account, Locks All Ebooks, Says 'Find A New Retailer' When She Asks Why 10/22/2012
- Remote Wipe of Customer?s Kindle Highlights Perils of DRM licensing, ToS; 10/22/2012
- Court rules book scanning is fair use, suggesting Google Books victory Judge rules for Google's library partners in lawsuit brought by Authors Guild; another lawsuit pending; 10/10/2012
- Google Deal Gives Publishers a Choice: Digitize or Not 10/4/2012
- Google Gives Up Fair-Use Defense, Settles Book-Scanning Lawsuit With Publishers 10/4/2012
- Do Bad Things Happen When Works Enter The Public Domain? The Data Says... No 9/28/2012
- Publishers Can't Seem To Celebrate The Ebook Boom Without Slipping In Odes To Copyright 9/24/2012
- Book Publishers Latest War On Technology: How Dare You Share Your Kindle Highlights! Findings.com; 9/20/2012
- Appeals court halts proceedings in Google Books case 9/17/2012
- Authors Guild Continues To Battle The Present; Attacks Another Legal Service As 'Infringing' 1DollarScan; 8/27/2012
- Hachette Tells Authors And Tor To Use DRM Because It Is Awesome Or Something 8/16/2012
- Piracy witch hunt downs legit e-book lending Web site Several authors on Twitter mistook Lendink for a piracy hub, a mistake that eventually took the site offline. As the dust settles, a disturbing picture of file-sharing hysteria emerges; 8/9/2012
- Court to Hear Google?s Challenge to Class-Action Lawsuit on Book Scanning 8/14/2012
- Authors Guild Asks For $750 For Every Book Google Scans; While Google Points Out That There's No Evidence Of Any Harm 8/7/2012
- Google urges end to authors' digital book lawsuit 7/27/2012
- Author Strips Naked To Protest Book Piracy Probably Works As Well As Anything Else; 7/23/2012
- Tor/Forge E-Books Are Now DRM-Free 7/20/2012
- A Redshirt in the DRM Wars Tor and first DRM-free ebook: Redshirts; 6/5/2012
- What To Do When Attacked by Pirates The music industry fought the future and created a black market; book publishers tried another tack; 6/1/2012
- Book publisher's subpoena for user data refused by Verizon Dummies series; 5/13/2012
- Tor to Drop DRM From E-Books one of the largest sci-fi and fantasy publishers; 4/25/2012
- Another Reason Why DRM Is Bad -- For Publishers barrier to entry in the online bookstore market; lock readers into a platform, e.g., Amazon; 4/16/2012
- Homemade Hardcovers: Yet Again, Anti-Circumvention Interferes With Fair Use (rearranging pages of legally purchased PDF e-books); 4/12/2012
- Why Do Publishers Treat Customers As Crooks With Scolding Copyright Notices? 4/6/2012
- The Biggest 'Pirates' And 'Freeloaders' Of Them All? College Professors And Librarians (1st copyright law: "An Act for the Encouragement of Learning"); 4/4/2012
- Why The 'Missing 20th Century' Of Books Is Even Worse Than It Seems (longer, ambiguous copyright); 4/3/2012
- Chinese Writers? Apple Book Piracy Claims Grow Louder 24 books published w/o permission; 3/19/2012
- Book Publishers Force Down Piracy Sites 2/15/2012
- How Publishers Repeated The Same Mistake As Record Labels: DRM Obsession Gave Amazon Dominant Position; 2/10/2012
- Google tries to kick Authors Guild out of court in book case 12/2011
- Stross: (Big6) publishers' insistence on DRM "hands Amazon a stick with which to beat them" 11/28/2011
- Hollywood's latest effort to turn back time (SOPA: Stop Online Piracy Act; E-PARASITE); 11/1/2011
- The case for piracy 10/20/2011
- E-books are "attacking our freedom" (DRM); The Dangers of E-books 6/8/2011
- Publishers Realizing It's Silly To 'Fight Piracy' 6/7/2011
- Steal This E-Book (O'Reilly) 4/11/2011
- Will E-Book Prices & Restrictions Lead to E-Book Piracy? 3/7/2011
- Zombie Authors Threaten Fiction Ebook Market, from the Grave! dead authors; copyright expiring; free e-books; 2/3/2010
- Will E-Book Anti-Piracy Technology Hurt Readers? 3/25/2009