MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Amazon in talks to launch digital book library -WSJ

JoeD · 09-12-2011, 09:44 AM

I also don't see the eReader cost as a big barrier. However, I do wonder how it would be priced.

Music is available from £5-10 p/m with unlimited plans (spotify) whilst netflix offers similar for movies (not sure of exact plans as I don't have it) which equates roughly to the cost of a single new DVD/Bluray or Album.

Would publishers agree to a subscription cost of £5-10? Roughly the cost of one new book per month? If they did, I'd be surprised if it was unlimited plan (which spotify is, not sure about netflix?) but more likely a low limit such as 4-5 books per month.

If you compare books to music/movies, I'd assume it's common for people to watch a few films a week (maybe one a night). The cost to buy that film would have been £5-15 depending (comparable to book prices) so within a few days you've covered the subscription cost and every film beyond that is a saving vs purchase.

I just can't see them allowing you to do the same unlimited plan with books, let alone the effectively unlimited plan of one book per day on a subscription of under £10. Four to five books per month, maybe, but I wouldn't find that attractive enough to sign up.

On an unlimited plan I wouldn't feel like only reading 1 or 2 books in a month was a loss since I might make up for it in a future month. Yet with a fixed 4-5 max per month I'd feel like any month I didn't use up the limit was a loss. That's how I treat spotify, some months I'll listen to loads of new artists and albums that could be said to have saved me a fortune vs purchase, yet other months I'll just listen to the same old playlist as previous months. Because the option is there to get my moneys worth though, I don't feel like I need to do so all the time.

Still, no point worrying about pricing and plans until something concrete is actually announced. If they did make it unlimited (or close enough), I'd certainly be interested, even if I tend to only read a few books a month so long as the option was there to read a few books in a couple of days without hitting some arbitrary limit.

09-12-2011, 09:44 AM	#11
JoeD Guru Posts: 895 Karma: 4383958 Join Date: Nov 2007 Device: na	I also don't see the eReader cost as a big barrier. However, I do wonder how it would be priced. Music is available from £5-10 p/m with unlimited plans (spotify) whilst netflix offers similar for movies (not sure of exact plans as I don't have it) which equates roughly to the cost of a single new DVD/Bluray or Album. Would publishers agree to a subscription cost of £5-10? Roughly the cost of one new book per month? If they did, I'd be surprised if it was unlimited plan (which spotify is, not sure about netflix?) but more likely a low limit such as 4-5 books per month. If you compare books to music/movies, I'd assume it's common for people to watch a few films a week (maybe one a night). The cost to buy that film would have been £5-15 depending (comparable to book prices) so within a few days you've covered the subscription cost and every film beyond that is a saving vs purchase. I just can't see them allowing you to do the same unlimited plan with books, let alone the effectively unlimited plan of one book per day on a subscription of under £10. Four to five books per month, maybe, but I wouldn't find that attractive enough to sign up. On an unlimited plan I wouldn't feel like only reading 1 or 2 books in a month was a loss since I might make up for it in a future month. Yet with a fixed 4-5 max per month I'd feel like any month I didn't use up the limit was a loss. That's how I treat spotify, some months I'll listen to loads of new artists and albums that could be said to have saved me a fortune vs purchase, yet other months I'll just listen to the same old playlist as previous months. Because the option is there to get my moneys worth though, I don't feel like I need to do so all the time. Still, no point worrying about pricing and plans until something concrete is actually announced. If they did make it unlimited (or close enough), I'd certainly be interested, even if I tend to only read a few books a month so long as the option was there to read a few books in a couple of days without hitting some arbitrary limit. Last edited by JoeD; 09-12-2011 at 09:47 AM.