More changes coming to Scribd in March 2016

[jhowell]

I just received an email from Scribd:

Dear John,
Thank you for being a part of the Scribd community. We are making some changes to the way our service works, and we wanted to let you know ahead of time.

Starting mid-March, your membership will include:

• Monthly Reads: three books and one audiobook of your choice from Scribd’s library of bestsellers and award winners

• Scribd Selects: a rotating collection of books and audiobooks handpicked by our editors, to which you will have unlimited access

• Substantial previews of any book or audiobook

• Unlimited access to sheet music and documents

We will continue to offer the most diverse selection of books, audiobooks, and more - without raising our prices. Your monthly membership fee is still $8.99 per month. To get you started, we’re giving you three additional Monthly Reads to use for any books.

We’ve worked hard to strike the right balance between providing our members with high-quality books and achieving long-term sustainability. These changes will affect a small number of members—only 3% in any given month. We want you to know that we’re continuing to explore additional membership options for all types of readers.

We welcome your comments, ideas and questions. Thank you again for being a part of our story.

—The Scribd Team

They are continuing their trend of giving less value.

[Joykins]

I just got this letter too.

Does this mean we got only 3 ebooks and unlimited choices from some I assume small?) group of books that they select?

That's not a good value from my perspective.

I guess it's time to quit Scribd and checkout Kindle Unlimited. Reading on a tablet was making my eyes wonky anyway.

[fjtorres]

Nate's take:

http://the-digital-reader.com/2016/0...ebook-service/

Teleread:

http://www.teleread.com/amazon/scrib...emi-unlimited/

Scribd claims 97% of its subscribers read 3 books or less.
Presumably they would prefer the other 3% left.

Thing is, unless they get newer, better terms from their book suppliers, even 3 books is a money losing proposition on tradpub titles.

[jhowell]

Originally Posted by Joykins

Does this mean we got only 3 ebooks and unlimited choices from some I assume small?) group of books that they select?

I think so.

Most likely the remaining unlimited catalog will be composed mostly of public domain books and books that the publishers let them have free/cheap for a limited time as promotions.

While I believe that I seldom went over three books a month with Scribd, just knowing that I could was a big selling point for me. I'm out.

ETA: Actually thinking about it, I probably triggered a lot of 'reads' by scrolling through science books and short story collections looking for something to catch my eye, just because I could.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by jhowell

I think so.

Most likely the remaining unlimited catalog will be composed mostly of public domain books and books that the publishers let them have free/cheap for a limited time as promotions.

While I believe that I seldom went over three books a month with Scribd, just knowing that I could was a big selling point for me. I'm out.

After they purged the romance titles, they kept the perma-free titles so people could keep paying them to read books they could download for free elsewhere.

A lot of indie authors responded by pulling out so those many not be an option.

[elaysee]

Ah well. Time for me to finish up as much of my Catherine Aird binge as possible, I guess. I'm one of those reasons their business model was unsustainable, so I knew this had to come eventually.

My first hope was that the Open Road books might remain more accessible, since that's been the backbone of my Scribd reading, and since they aren't a big traditional publisher. But the Teleread piece indicates "thousand of books" rotating, which is much more limited.

I already had a goal for the year to track my value for money from the subscription services, this just doubles down on that goal.

[Joykins]

Originally Posted by jhowell

I think so.

Most likely the remaining unlimited catalog will be composed mostly of public domain books and books that the publishers let them have free/cheap for a limited time as promotions.

Probably also some well-reviewed but long literary or nonfiction books that could well take nearly a month to read--things like _Infinite Jest_. That accentuates the quality of their collection and makes it look like their editors have good taste while preventing binges.

While I believe that I seldom went over three books a month with Scribd, just knowing that I could was a big selling point for me. I'm out.

I read anywhere from 1 to 16 or so per month, mostly around the higher end. Some months I probably read 3.

I wonder if it is worth sticking around for the change just to see how it works, but I'll probably.be better off saving my money at this point and using the library.

[NickyWithNook]

I knew this was coming. Maybe it's time to switch to Kindle Unlimited.

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by elaysee

My first hope was that the Open Road books might remain more accessible, since that's been the backbone of my Scribd reading, and since they aren't a big traditional publisher. But the Teleread piece indicates "thousand of books" rotating, which is much more limited.

Aren't Open Road titles still available through Kindle Unlimited?

[jhowell]

Originally Posted by Catlady

Aren't Open Road titles still available through Kindle Unlimited?

I don't know, but if you have access to a public library that uses either Freading or Hoopla as one of their e-book providers then you can borrow Open Road titles for free.

[briefcandles]

This kind of membership only makes sense (if at all) if you only read full-length books. I use Scribd to read a lot of shorts and novellas that I don't feel like spending money on. At 3 titles a month I might as well just buy them outright.

[jhowell]

Since they don't say, I assume that there no carry over. Use it or loose it. So six reads the first month and three each month after that.

(ETA: I was wrong about that. See post by latepaul below.)

[elaysee]

Originally Posted by Catlady

Aren't Open Road titles still available through Kindle Unlimited?

Some are, some aren't - it'll be interesting to see if there are trickle-through effects on other services.

jhowell, I didn't know some of the library e-book providers had Open Road, but mine doesn't. The system recently made its terms for acquiring recommended books more restrictive, so I think it's feeling the pinch also. Not that I don't have plenty to read in any event...

[latepaul]

Originally Posted by jhowell

Since they don't say, I assume that there no carry over. Use it or loose it. So six reads the first month and three each month after that.

They do carry over up to a maximum of 9 ebooks and 3 audio books

[Bookworm_Girl]

Originally Posted by latepaul

They do carry over up to a maximum of 9 ebooks and 3 audio books

I am disappointed but not surprised by this news based on other cuts in the past.

Thank you for the link! I am glad that there will be carryover credits. I am also glad according to that link that when you use a credit that it is considered a lifelong borrow and you don't have to use new credits if you want to look at it again in the future.

I looked at my history last year when I had an Oyster account. I averaged 4 books per month but the quantity per month could vary widely. I would prefer a tiered system with higher fees for more borrows.

I don't plan to cancel my account but will have to be more discriminating in what I select. Like others I used it to sample or read books that I would not have browsed otherwise just because they were available and I could. One could easily discard the book and move onto something else.