About a year ago the online retailer (and much more) introduced its own publishing arm, AmazonEncore. With the new AmazonCrossing, focused on works in translation, Jeff Bezos' baby continues its assault on old-school publishers.
During a culinary barbecue escapade, Tom Ryder, now on the board of Amazon, gives his view on the coming shake-out in e-publishing and where the opportunities are for investors.
Book publisher Simon & Schuster did not have the greatest of first quarters, according to the report released Wednesday: Sales and earnings dropped or were flat compared to a year ago. The bright spot, however, came on the digital side, with e-book sales zooming up.
Google has promised to enter the exploding e-book market for some time, and as of this summer, that promise, in the form of Google Editions, will become reality -- and sets Google up as a formidable player doing battle with Apple and Amazon in the digital publishing world.
Total book sales were down in 2009, confirming the grim outlook for producers and sellers of the printed word. But the publishing industry does have one reason to be hopeful: the rapidly growing e-book.
Apple announced that it sold approximately 300,000 iPads and that newly-minted iPad owners downloaded one million apps from its App Store and 250,000 e-books from its iBookstore on opening day. While these numbers sound suitably impressive, a closer look at the figures raises more questions than answers.
That battle may be over, but more is on the way. Publishers Hachette and HarperCollins are now also on board with the pricing model championed by rival Macmillan, which sets e-book prices higher. Amazon has restored Macmillan's titles to its site after a one-week protest -- but a much bigger, costlier fight looms.
Big publishers are in talks with Apple on how to make e-books available for the forthcoming Tablet. They may be pushing towards a new pricing model, one which Amazon has a vested interest in combating with an attractive new royalty rate for would-be e-authors.
Book publishers' interest in digital e-books is mounting, as the number of e-readers hitting the market, in all shapes, sizes, and color capabilities, is set to grow. And the children's sector of publishing in particular is getting their notice.
