Buzz Bissinger should have been excited when Starbucks selected his Byliner e-single, “After Friday Night Lights,” as its free “pick of the week.” But then Amazon responded. Turns out being a Starbucks Pick of the Week is a mixed blessing for authors and publishers. Read more »
Microsoft and Barnes & Noble are teaming up to take on Amazon and Apple. The $300 million investment in the Nook subsidiary of Barnes & Noble gives Microsoft about 17.6% ownership of this business unit and values it at about about $1.7 billion, more than Barnes & Noble itself. Read more at GigaOM »
Worldreader gives Kindles to students in sub-Saharan Africa. The nonprofit’s new report, funded by USAID, shows that access to e-readers improved primary school students’ reading skills significantly. But a lot of e-readers broke and results for older kids were mixed. Read more at GigaOM »
This new weekly feature tells the backstory of how one e-book became a bestseller, and highlights bestselling titles that are selling better in digital than in print. This week: Two castaways find romance on a desert island…and other bestsellers. Read more »
Amazon’s earnings were down during its first quarter, but both revenue and profit came in much higher than investors had expected on the back of another strong quarter for the company’s electronic sales efforts. Read more »
Kobo will launch in Brazil this fall, VP Todd Humphrey said yesterday. Amazon’s Kindle may get there first. Read more »
As government strives to keep up with the broadband age, the Senate held a hearing covering the future of television, but midway through I realized that the Senate has it all wrong. The future of TV isn’t found in deregulation, it’s found on the Internet. Read more at GigaOM »
Calls for big-six publishers to drop DRM have increased in recent weeks, coinciding with the DOJ price-fixing lawsuit. In the meantime, one publishing industry executive tried breaking the DRM on purchased e-books — and isn’t going back. Read more »
Breaking down the e-book bestsellers list: A new weekly feature. Read more »
Book publishers argue that Amazon is a vicious monopoly that has too much power over them and their content. But they need to realize they gave Amazon much of that power themselves when they agreed to shackle all of their books in DRM chains. Read more at GigaOM »
Ann Patchett says times are tough enough for the literary community now that “the Department of Justice has decided to be Amazon’s bodyguard.” Read more »
Here are the most interesting things that Amazon publisher Larry Kirshbaum said in an interview with Daniel Menaker last week. Read more »
Last week, the Department of Justice sued Apple and five book publishers for allegedly colluding to set e-book prices. What does the suit mean for readers today and in coming weeks? Read more »
Apple says it had to cut an agency-pricing deal with publishers in order to weaken Amazon’s monopolistic control over the e-book industry. But wait — didn’t Apple behave exactly the same way towards the record labels as it is accusing Amazon of behaving towards book publishers? Read more at GigaOM »
The Amazon-owned digital audiobooks site Audible.com is launching a new program, “Audible Author Services,” that pays audiobook authors $1 per sale through Audible.com, Audible.co.uk, and iTunes. The audiobook publishers do not receive any of the funds. Read more »
As the Department of Justice pursues an antitrust case over e-book prices, publishers say they need “agency pricing” to prevent Amazon from increasing its monopoly and decimating the book industry. So who should we be rooting for, the giant retailer or the giant publishing houses? Read more at GigaOM »
Our primer to today’s DOJ lawsuit against five publishers and Apple — how we got here and what comes next. Read more »
Apple and book publishers already have their hands full after the Justice Department sued them in New York today for allegedly fixing the price of e-books. Now, state governments are seeking their own pound of flesh. Read more »
Three publishers named in the DOJ’s lawsuit against agency pricing “reluctantly” agreed to settle. Meanwhile, Amazon’s smiling today. Read more »
Macmillan is ready to fight the Department of Justice lawsuit against Apple and five big publishers, CEO John Sargent writes in an open letter to the publishing community today. Read more »
The Justice Department has at last filed an anti-trust complaint in New York against Apple and five publishers over an alleged price fixing conspiracy. Read more »
Pinterest users can now pin Amazon and eBay finds to their boards directly from product pages. Read more »
At least two of the big-six publishers are refusing to sign new annual contracts with Amazon. While that could result in their “buy” buttons being turned off, it is more likely that the feud will result in less promotion of big-six publishers’ titles on the site. Read more »
Amazon is turning on a key money-making tool for developers in its Appstore for Android, letting app makers offer in-app purchase through Amazon. The service allows developers to easily sell in-game currency, upgrades, content and magazine issues with one-click checkouts. Read more »
In a letter to the Senate, Washington-based lobbyist Consumer Federation of America claims “this year the cost to consumers of e-book price fixing will likely exceed $200 million and the abuse will grow dramatically.” How did the CFA calculate that number? Read more »
Google is reportedly ending its program that allows independent booksellers to sell Google e-books through their websites. Below is the full letter that the American Booksellers Association sent to members announcing the news. Read more »
Hoping to tap into a new U.S. audience whose first language is Spanish, Amazon today launched “eBooks Kindle en Español,” which carries 30,000 e-books in Spanish and offers Spanish-language customer support. Read more »
Barnes & Noble has said it won’t carry Amazon Publishing titles in its stores, but it’s backing down in the case of the children’s book line Amazon recently acquired. Read more »
The plaintiffs who are accusing Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) and publishers of fixing e-book prices say they don’t have to show an actual meeting took… Read more »
In two separate articles published this weekend, the Seattle Times criticizes Amazon (NSDQ: AMZN) for its business practices and philanthrop… Read more »
Amazon (NSDQ: AMZN) is denying a frustrated publisher’s claim that it has indefinitely stopped adding any more newspapers and magazines to i… Read more »
A Texas shell company is claiming that battery technology in devices like the Kindle Fire and the Samsung Galaxy Nexus infringes its patent. Read more »
J. K. Rowling’s Pottermore shop, the exclusive source for Harry Potter e-books and digital audiobooks, launched yesterday, and some muggles… Read more »
Amazon’s Kindle Touch e-reader is available for preorder in Europe now. Read more »
Within hours of the Harry Potter series going on sale as e-books for the first time, the Amazon (NSDQ: AMZN) Kindle Store hit a wall: titles… Read more »
The Pottermore e-bookstore is open earlier than expected, with all the Harry Potter e-books and digital audiobooks available (DRM-free) for… Read more »
If you liked The Hunger Games, Harry Potter and Twilight, you’ll love Popular Book Series of the 21st Century: Harry Potter, Twilight, The M… Read more »
Teen dystopian trilogy Hunger Games appears to be on its way to blockbuster-dom, pulling in $19.75 million at the midnight premiere of the… Read more »
Two new book-related startups that launched in beta this week seek to redefine the book buying, browsing and selling experience. Read more »
Romance author Barbara Freethy has seen huge success making her out-of-print titles available as self-published e-books. She’s now sold 1.6… Read more »
