Quote:
Originally Posted by J. Strnad
I'm beginning to think that Amazon may run into trouble with anti-monopoly laws.
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Not any time soon.
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.