Dispute over low e-book prices
By Hillel Italie |
February 1, 2010, Monday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
NEW copies of Hilary Mantel's "Wolf Hall," Andrew Young's "The Politician" and other books published by Macmillan were unavailable on Saturday on Amazon.com, a drastic step in the ongoing dispute over e-book prices.
Macmillan CEO John Sargent said he was told last Friday that its books would be removed from Amazon.com, as would e-books for Amazon's Kindle e-reader. Books will be available on Amazon.com through private sellers and other third parties, according to Sargent.
Sargent met with Amazon officials last Thursday to discuss the publisher's new pricing model for e-books. He wrote in a letter to Macmillan authors and literary agents over the weekend that the plan would allow Amazon to make more money selling Macmillan books and that Macmillan would make less. He characterized the dispute as a disagreement over "the long-term viability and stability of the digital book market."
Macmillan and other publishers have criticized Amazon for charging just US$9.99 for best-selling e-books on its Kindle e-reader, a price publishers say is too low and could hurt hardcover sales, which generally carry a list price of more than US$24.
Macmillan is one of the world's largest English-language publishers. Its divisions include St Martin's Press, itself one of the largest publishers in the United States; Henry Holt & Co, one of the oldest publishers in America; Farrar, Straus & Giroux; and Tor, the leading science fiction publisher.
Sargent credited Amazon in his letter, calling the company a "valuable customer" and a "great innovator in our industry."
But, he wrote, the digital book industry needs to create a business model that provides equal opportunities for retailers. Under Macmillan's model, to be put in place in March, e-books will be priced from US$12.99 to US$14.99 when first released and prices will change over time.
For its part, Amazon wants to keep a lid on prices as competitors line up to challenge its dominant position in a rapidly expanding market. It did not immediately return messages seeking comment on Saturday.
Barnes & Noble's Nook and Sony Corp's e-book readers are on sale. But the latest and most talked about challenger is Apple, which just unveiled the iPad tablet computer and a new online book store modeled on iTunes.
Macmillan CEO John Sargent said he was told last Friday that its books would be removed from Amazon.com, as would e-books for Amazon's Kindle e-reader. Books will be available on Amazon.com through private sellers and other third parties, according to Sargent.
Sargent met with Amazon officials last Thursday to discuss the publisher's new pricing model for e-books. He wrote in a letter to Macmillan authors and literary agents over the weekend that the plan would allow Amazon to make more money selling Macmillan books and that Macmillan would make less. He characterized the dispute as a disagreement over "the long-term viability and stability of the digital book market."
Macmillan and other publishers have criticized Amazon for charging just US$9.99 for best-selling e-books on its Kindle e-reader, a price publishers say is too low and could hurt hardcover sales, which generally carry a list price of more than US$24.
Macmillan is one of the world's largest English-language publishers. Its divisions include St Martin's Press, itself one of the largest publishers in the United States; Henry Holt & Co, one of the oldest publishers in America; Farrar, Straus & Giroux; and Tor, the leading science fiction publisher.
Sargent credited Amazon in his letter, calling the company a "valuable customer" and a "great innovator in our industry."
But, he wrote, the digital book industry needs to create a business model that provides equal opportunities for retailers. Under Macmillan's model, to be put in place in March, e-books will be priced from US$12.99 to US$14.99 when first released and prices will change over time.
For its part, Amazon wants to keep a lid on prices as competitors line up to challenge its dominant position in a rapidly expanding market. It did not immediately return messages seeking comment on Saturday.
Barnes & Noble's Nook and Sony Corp's e-book readers are on sale. But the latest and most talked about challenger is Apple, which just unveiled the iPad tablet computer and a new online book store modeled on iTunes.
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