05-23-2011, 09:10 AM | #1 |
Novelist
Posts: 287
Karma: 387979
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Eugene, Oregon
Device: Kindle
|
Amazon to Compete with the Big 6
From Shelf Awareness:
"Larry Kirshbaum, literary agent and former head of Time Warner book publishing--now Hachette Group--is becoming publisher of Amazon's New York office and will head a new general-interest imprint, according to the Wall Street Journal." That makes 5 Amazon imprints, all pushing into print distribution and competing directly with NY publishers. I'm starting to think Amazon will soon dominate both print and digital publishing. L.J. |
05-23-2011, 11:03 AM | #2 |
Guru
Posts: 915
Karma: 3537194
Join Date: Feb 2009
Device: Kobo, Kindle 3, Paperwhite
|
I'm beginning to think that Amazon may run into trouble with anti-monopoly laws.
|
Advert | |
|
05-23-2011, 11:11 AM | #3 | |
PHD in Horribleness
Posts: 2,320
Karma: 23599604
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: In the ironbound section, near avenue L
Device: Just a whole bunch. I guess I am a collector now.
|
Quote:
The mandarins are in charge, they own both parties, and they are for sale. Anti monoply policies are so twentieth century. Monopolies are only bad if you can get a bigger payoff from someone else. |
|
05-23-2011, 11:12 AM | #4 |
Wizard
Posts: 1,262
Karma: 2979086
Join Date: Nov 2010
Device: Kindle 4, iPad Mini/Retina
|
Hello Big 7.
I'm not sure how monopoly laws would be an issue unless all other publishers went out of business. |
05-23-2011, 12:19 PM | #5 |
Wizard
Posts: 1,531
Karma: 34583358
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Quincy, MA
Device: Samsung 54A, Kobo Libra H2O, Samsung S6 Lite
|
Can someone post the article please. I'm not signing up just to read it. Thanks.
|
Advert | |
|
05-23-2011, 12:24 PM | #6 |
Wizard
Posts: 2,302
Karma: 2607151
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Toronto
Device: Kobo Aura HD, Kindle Paperwhite, Asus ZenPad 3, Kobo Glo
|
I really doubt if Amazon would run into any trouble with monopoly laws by also becoming a publisher. There are hundreds of thousands of new books published annually; Amazon, even if wildly successful, could only become a seventh important player ... barring the purchase of one or more of the existing conglomerates.
|
05-23-2011, 12:43 PM | #7 |
monkey on the fringe
Posts: 45,475
Karma: 158151390
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Seattle Metro
Device: Moto E6, Echo Show
|
|
05-23-2011, 01:06 PM | #8 |
Wizard
Posts: 1,531
Karma: 34583358
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Quincy, MA
Device: Samsung 54A, Kobo Libra H2O, Samsung S6 Lite
|
Is it possible, they are getting into publishing to re-establish control over pricing? I suspect they are taking a big hit in their sales since they had to stop the $9.99 pricing thanks to agency 5.
If they are the publisher, they can set the price as they want including $9.99 for just released epubs. |
05-23-2011, 01:16 PM | #9 |
Spork Connoisseur
Posts: 2,355
Karma: 16780603
Join Date: Mar 2011
Device: Nook Color
|
Competition, generally, is a good thing.
|
05-23-2011, 01:50 PM | #10 | |
Grand Sorcerer
Posts: 11,732
Karma: 128354696
Join Date: May 2009
Location: 26 kly from Sgr A*
Device: T100TA,PW2,PRS-T1,KT,FireHD 8.9,K2, PB360,BeBook One,Axim51v,TC1000
|
Quote:
Their print operations have near zero market share and there is ample legal precedent (iPod) for walled-garden content ecosystems with even higher market share than Kindle. You'll see action on the Price Fix Six before you'll see action on Amazon (and I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for either). Now, me, I think Amazon's moves into publishing aren't aimed at the established publishers, big or small, as much as they are at Apple, B&N, and Kobo (and above all, Adobe). Think of this as equivalent to Sony owning Columbia Sudios and only releasing HD content for BluRay or owning 22 video game development studios cranking out exclusives for PS3, neither of which has drawn a shred of regulatory interest. As I've said before, the ebook business is starting to look a lot like the video game business, with first-party exclusives, third-party timed exclusives, and all sorts of incentives to content producers. Amazon is just beefing up their first-party lineup to make sure Kindle will always have unique content not available elsewhere. |
|
05-23-2011, 02:39 PM | #11 |
Wizard
Posts: 2,016
Karma: 2838487
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Washington, DC
Device: Ipad, IPhone
|
BN also is getting into publishing, and I would not be surprised if Kobo does something along that line soon .Meanwhile, publishers are starting to experiment with direct selling to customers
BOOKISH I think we'll see a lot of fluidity between authoring, publishing, and bookselling in the next two decades. AMAZON looks like it wants to be a vertically integrated company purveying written content directly from the author to the consumer. It probably won't be the last. |
05-23-2011, 04:30 PM | #12 | |
Grand Sorcerer
Posts: 11,732
Karma: 128354696
Join Date: May 2009
Location: 26 kly from Sgr A*
Device: T100TA,PW2,PRS-T1,KT,FireHD 8.9,K2, PB360,BeBook One,Axim51v,TC1000
|
Quote:
The barriers to entry are down, there are no more gatekeepers, and with publishers and agents on the verge of all-out war all bets are off. The only roles that are absolutely necessary in the new era are those of writer and reader. Everybody else has to justify their existence on a day-by-day basis. Everybody else had better by prepared to take on as much of the value add in between or be prepared to be bypassed. Not much fun ahead for those wedded to the old ways but change is no longer just coming, it is *here*. Retailers and agents getting into publishing and publishers getting into retailing are the least of the system shocks to the "ancien regime" we'll see before the dust settle. The big one is the end of full-credit returns. That one is a ticking timebomb. I'm thinking...two-three years. Four max. One thing, though, Amazon isn't just a vertically integrated company; they are an outright conglomerate (ala GE) but focused on retailing instead of manufacturing. They sell dry goods like books and CDs, electronics and clothing, food and drugs; but also services like online hosting and storage, and even personal services. And they don't limit themselves to consumer sales, as the bulk of their services operations are (so far) corporate-focused. If we look at their publishing ventures as a *service* they sell to authors and agents then their publishing subsidiary is pretty much a natural extension of their ebook conversion and marketting services. Essentially, they are looking to sell themselves to the authors, instead of expecting the authors to sell themselves to Amazon. A slightly different approach from that of the BPHs. |
|
05-23-2011, 04:34 PM | #13 |
Wizard
Posts: 2,230
Karma: 7145404
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Southern California
Device: Kindle Voyage & iPhone 7+
|
tubemonkey, that reminds me of Jim Cramer's "four horsement of tech" -- http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/0...rsemen-of-tech
Apple, Google, Amazon, and (surprisingly as viewed today) Research in Motion. Three out of four isn't a bad prediction for four-odd years ago. Of course earlier he had picked Cisco, Intel, Dell, and Microsoft (not bad even today, excepting Dell!). Cisco, Intel, and Miicrosoft are still market giants. |
05-23-2011, 04:49 PM | #14 | |
Ebook Reader
Posts: 605
Karma: 3205128
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Texas
Device: Kindle 3, HTC Evo, HTC View
|
Quote:
|
|
05-23-2011, 04:51 PM | #15 | |
Wizard
Posts: 2,302
Karma: 2607151
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Toronto
Device: Kobo Aura HD, Kindle Paperwhite, Asus ZenPad 3, Kobo Glo
|
Quote:
|
|
Tags |
amazon, publishing |
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Amazon - Big Brother or Benefactor? | poohbear_nc | Amazon Kindle | 6 | 10-15-2010 01:49 PM |
Classic Can B&N Compete? | crutnacker | Barnes & Noble NOOK | 3 | 12-08-2009 02:32 PM |
Kindle Drives Amazon to Big Third Quarter | AnemicOak | News | 5 | 10-22-2009 09:25 PM |
Not Too Late To Make That Amazon Video & Win Big! | poohbear_nc | News | 0 | 07-10-2009 08:25 AM |
Big Vision from Amazon Boss on Kindle | bookwormfjl | News | 0 | 04-20-2008 09:45 AM |