Amazon vs. Apple: Why writers drink, part four million

[rolanni]

Well, at least it's become clear that the War is between Amazon and Apple, for marketshare, and only peripherally about publishers, publishing, authors, or even books.

Author's careers? Just collateral damage.

I feel sooooo much better.

From the New York Times, we have:

Amazon Threatens Publishers as Apple Looms
By MOTOKO RICH and BRAD STONE
Published: March 17, 2010

Amazon.com has threatened to stop directly selling the books of some publishers online unless they agree to a detailed list of concessions regarding the sale of electronic books, according to two industry executives with direct knowledge of the discussions.

Read all about it.

Comments

[dhw.livejournal.com]

No one is thinking about the Authors.

Amazon and Apple both want to control the online eBook market. Apple has reaped enormous rewards over their enormous market share in online Music, and wants to repeat this.

The publishers want to keep eBooks from cannibalizing their paper book sales (which I'm not sure is wise, but that's another matter), and so want to keep the consumer prices for eBooks higher on release.

The end result is that the publishers are fighting for the Apple model in which they get to control prices, but actually get significantly less revenue than they do from Amazon per book.

To what degree the Publisher revenue correlates to the Author revenue is not something I have visibility into.

I don't see a Good Guy in this fight.

[grassrose.livejournal.com]

I totally agree. I've gone out of my way to install alternatives to Apple software on my machine, because it's so grabby and intrusive. When the Apple site tried to force me to install iTunes just to buy a flipping GIFT card for a teen relative "blessed" with an iPod, I chose another gift. I'm not quite annoyed enough with Bill Gates to ditch Microsoft and go entirely over to the Penguin, but it's been close a time or two.

As for Amazon, I do buy some goods from them and their Marketplace. But as far as ebooks go, I've downloaded one freebie from them. All of my other ebooks, I've bought from Baen, Fictionwise and Book View Cafe.

[autopope.livejournal.com]

Amazon and Apple both want to control the online eBook market.

Not exactly true.

Apple is primarily a hardware vendor. They want to sell you iPods, iPhones, and now iPads to consume media on. They need copious media on their platform if people are to be induced to buy them. Sure they'd be happy to own the ebook market if they could -- but it's not worth wrecking their existing business model to do so.

Amazon probably makes a loss on each Kindle sold. They probably make a loss on most Kindle ebooks sold, too. They even make a loss on most of their books.

Where Amazon make their profit is on white goods and clothes and food and similar stuff, which is worth oodles more than books. Books are merely the deep-discounted draw to get punters through the door -- same as they are at Tesco when they get a new Harry Potter title and discount it to 25% of SRP.

Amazon want to own the ebook market because ebooks threaten paper books, and paper books are their draw.

Amazon are like WalMart, only via mail order, and more evil.

(Luckily they're probably going to lose, because in this fight Amazon resemble a chihuahua trying to hump a leonberger.)

[laurahcory1.livejournal.com]

Hey Dave,

Not all publishers think that e-book sales cannibalize other sales. Toni makes a good point about that in her recent interview regarding the way Baen does e-books:

http://www.teleread.org/2010/03/11/interview-toni-weisskopf-publisher-of-baen-books/