Penguin Random House wanted to buy another large publishing company, Simon and Schuster. They pitched $2.2 billion dollars, however the USA Justice Department put the kibosh on it. Penguin Random House wanted to appeal the verdict, however German media group Bertelsmann, which owns Penguin, was unable to convince Paramount Global, Simon & Schuster's current owner, to help … [Read more...] about Penguin Random House will not buy Simon and Schuster
Business News and Statistics
Alexa and Kindles are unprofitable for Amazon
The Amazon devices division currently employs 10,000 people. These are the staff that are in charge of the Alexa, Kindle, Fire TV, Ring, Echo, Amazon Earbuds and Fire Tablet devices. All of these products are unprofitable lose $5 billion annually in the past few years. Most of these devices are loss leaders because Amazon normally subsidizes the cost to get more market share. … [Read more...] about Alexa and Kindles are unprofitable for Amazon
ebook sales increase by 2.7% in August 2022
For the first time this year digital book sales in the United States were up 2.7% in August 2022. The format generated over $90.7 million dollars. Whereas the digital audiobook market has been increasing every single month for the past couple of years, as it is the fastest growing segment in digital publishing. Sales for August was $73.0 million.Year-to-date eBook revenues … [Read more...] about ebook sales increase by 2.7% in August 2022
Bookeen is going bankrupt
Bookeen is a is based in Paris, France. They have been making e-readers since 2003 and they primarily focus exclusively in the French market. Every couple of years they unveil a new device and currently they are selling the Notea, which is an e-note. Bookeen has hit some very hard times and since the summer of 2022 and owe some hefty amounts of money to their creditors. The … [Read more...] about Bookeen is going bankrupt
TikTok is boosting the literacy rate among young readers
Social media is having a surprising effect on how many books Americans are reading. According to a new study, nearly half of people choose what to read after hearing about it on social media. A survey of 1,000 Americans found TikTok is boosting the literacy rate among younger readers in the U.S. The entire Booktok phenonium is really getting young people reading and making it … [Read more...] about TikTok is boosting the literacy rate among young readers
US Judge blocks Simon & Shuster Merger with Penguin Random House
The proposed merger between two of the largest publishers in the world is in serious jeopardy. Penguin Random House wants to buy Simon and Shuster and US judge has blocked the deal from going through. The judge stated that the merger would be bad for authors, royalties and competition.U.S. District Court Judge Florence Y. Pan announced the decision in a brief statement … [Read more...] about US Judge blocks Simon & Shuster Merger with Penguin Random House
The Amazon vs Huawei legal battle might have to do with the Kindle Scribe
Amazon is accused of infringing copyrights held by Huawei which might be related to E Ink devices, Pandaily reported citing the Chinese media house Guancha. It is not known at this moment which of Huawei's copyright has become the bone of contention between the two tech giants though experts believe it could be related to E Ink devices launched by the American company. Among … [Read more...] about The Amazon vs Huawei legal battle might have to do with the Kindle Scribe
eBook revenues were down 6.6% in July 2022
In July 2022 in the United States eBook revenue is on the decline. Revenue was down 6.6% for the month as compared to July 2021 and the format generated $82.4 million. Digital and downloadable audiobooks were up 8.9%, coming in at $69.3 million in revenue. Physical Audio was down 46.5% coming in at $1.0 million. Year-to-date eBook revenues were down 8.0% as compared to the … [Read more...] about eBook revenues were down 6.6% in July 2022
Shopify settles with publishers for textbook and ebook piracy lawsuit
Shopify was sued last year by a number of educational publishers who accused them of ignoring repeat notices that its users sell pirated digital versions of their textbooks and eBooks. The lawsuit said Shopify’s “blind eye” to piracy allows for copyright and trademark infringement on a “massive scale.” The publishers asked the court for statutory damages of up to $150,000 per … [Read more...] about Shopify settles with publishers for textbook and ebook piracy lawsuit
Amazon wins lawsuit against ebook price fixing
Amazon and five of the major publishers have just won a lawsuit that was filed against them for fixing the prices of ebooks. According to the plaintiffs, Amazon commands 90% of retail e-book market in the United States and 50% of print trade book sales.Consumers accused the defendants of signing agreements that let the publishers inflate e-book prices by locking in a 30% … [Read more...] about Amazon wins lawsuit against ebook price fixing
Canadian ebook sales were strong in 2021
Canadians continued to be enamored with reading reading digital books. Over half of all publishers (52%) saw increases in ebook revenue compared with 2020 and just over a quarter of all publishers (28%) saw increases in audiobook revenue in the same period. This bodes well for the digital publishing industry and also companies that sell e-readers and ebooks, such as Amazon and … [Read more...] about Canadian ebook sales were strong in 2021
Why are Kindle ebooks so expensive?
Digital books on the Kindle, Nook or Kobo are way more expensive now, than ever before. Major publishers who control the vast majority of the market, control the prices and users end up paying more than the paperback and in some cases, the ebooks are more expensive than the hardcover. Why are ebooks so expensive now? Agency Model Keeps the Prices High Digital books used to be … [Read more...] about Why are Kindle ebooks so expensive?