Now that the DoJ’s response to the public comments has made it overwhelmingly likely that the settlement it negotiated with Hachette, HarperCollins, and Simon & Schuster will be accepted by the Court, it is time to contemplate the changes we’ll see in the ebook marketplace in the next couple of months. The settlement requires the […]
Archives for July 2012
Explaining my skepticism about the likelihood of success for a general subscription model for ebooks
In a prior post, I observed that the apparently-successful subscription offerings for books were in niches. And I said I believed that a more general subscription model wouldn’t work for ebooks the way it has seemed to work for music (Spotify), movies and TV shows (Netflix), and audiobooks (Audible). By that I meant two things. […]
A helpful questionnaire for any publisher to figure out if its permissions policies and practices make sense; many don’t
A year ago last March, the Book Industry Study Group hosted a conversation aimed at uncovering what were the key transitional issues publishers needed to deal with in the current decade. I was not part of that effort, but I chimed in with my two cents in a post in which I said that getting […]
Subscription models seem to me to be for ebook niches, not a general offer
Another fledgling ebook retailing venture came through our office this month touting a subscription proposition. I told the entrepeneur “I’m skeptical of the subscription model for ebooks,” and he said, “I know”. We had a great chat, but I’m still skeptical. When I say that, I mean I’m skeptical that a general offering subscription model […]
Royalty Share CEO Bob Kohn alleges DoJ violates the Tunney Act
According to Bob Kohn, an attorney and the CEO of Royalty Share, the Tunney Act very clearly requires that the Justice Department publish (and it was thought originally that this meant “print”) all the public comment they got within the alloted comment period. Kohn says that’s what the law states clearly, as upheld in a […]