Quote:
Originally Posted by pilotbob
I don't understand the above at all. Amazon is selling ebooks from many different publishers and authors. How does them becoming the dominate player affect authors/publishers?
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What the WG and I am concerned about, Bob, is that if Amazon comes to dominate the ebook industry like Apple dominated the initial music market, then Amazon will be able to dictate the sale terms -- both wholesale and retail.
It is not so farfetched should Amazon dominate for Amazon to tell publishers that (a) it wants an 80% discount and (b) it wants exclusivity for x months/years. If Amazon so wraps up the market for ebooks that it accounts for 40% to 60% of ebook sales, authors and publishers will have little choice but to agree.
Also, consider this: Buying an ebook reading device is currently an expensive proposition so most people buy 1 device. If that 1 device is the Kindle, they are locked into the Amazon store, especially now that Amazon owns Mobi. Yes, I know that the Kindle can handle other formats and that there are conversion tools, but most people will only think Amazon and will not go to the trouble of converting other formats.
I think the WG has a legitimate fear.