Major publishers are continuing to see strong gains from audiobooks in the first quarter of 2018. This is a period in which audiobook retailers such as Audible are experiencing higher than average revenue due to people getting new gadgets for Christmas. HarperCollins stated that downloadable audio accounted for … [Read more...]
Scribd ebooks and magazines now available in Hotels
Scribd has just ironed out an agreement with KEYPR to have their unlimited ebook subscription app preloaded on tablets inside most major hotels. Upon signing up for the service, guests will have instant access to bestselling and award-winning books and audiobooks like A Higher Loyalty by James Comey or The Handmaid’s … [Read more...]
E-Ink is doubling down on Spectra epaper
E Ink is the company that has powered the entire e-reader revolution and its epaper technology is on every single device currently on the market. For the past few years e-Readers represent 80% of their annual revenue and most of the partnerships they establish are to further develop new products in this space. E Ink … [Read more...]
Amazon Prime price has increased to $119
Amazon Prime has just increased the cost of a one year subscription and customers will now pay $119. This is the first time in four years that the price has changed and it is 20% increase over the old price, which was $99. Amazon Prime cost $79 for the first nine years when it first launched. It wasn’t until 2014 … [Read more...]
Spotify has the right audience to make audiobooks work
Spotify is getting involved in the audiobook space and is in negotiations with Scribd to power most of their catalog. Obviously Spotify is not putting all of their eggs in one basket and has just signed a small deal with Bloomsbury for a bunch of smaller audiobooks that document making albums including Bruce … [Read more...]
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos talks about selling books in new interview
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos recently conducted a 40 minute interview with Axel Springer CEO Mathias Döpfner. He talked about why he decided to start selling books and the extenstional threat that Barnes and Noble provided when they first started selling books online. Why did Jeff Bezos pick books as the first thing that … [Read more...]
Amazon to open a new Vancouver office in 2022
Amazon announced today that they are going to open a new 38,000 square metre office tower at the old post office and it will go fully online by 2022. Amazon has stated that they will be filling over 3,000 new positions and the vast majority will be focusing on the technology and business. The general manager of web … [Read more...]
Amazon Prime price increase not changing in Canada
Amazon announced last week that they are going to be increasing the cost of Prime membership from $99 per year to $119 on May 11th for new customers and June 16th for existing ones. This price change only affects customers in the United States and people who live in Canada will continue to pay $79 per year. “Since … [Read more...]
iTunes is now available on the Widows Store
Microsoft announced last year at their BUILD conference that Apple was making a variant of iTunes for the Windows Store. The app has finally been released and it works great on Windows 10 or tablets that run it. You will no longer be prompted to install iCloud anymore or other Apple branded apps because updates are … [Read more...]
Amazon Prime Membership is increasing to $119 per year
Amazon has announced during an earnings call that they are increasing the cost of Prime membership from $99 per year to $119. This will go into effect on May 11th for new members and June 16 for existing ones. This is the first time that the company has increased the cost of annual subscriptions since 2014. Amazon … [Read more...]
Kobo eBook Sales Increase by 60%
Kobo ebook sales have increased 60% year on year, according to the latest financial report by their parent company Rakuten. This includes the money that Kobo made from purchasing the Tolino assets last year. Kobo offers its digital reading experience to millions of readers around the world in 190 countries through … [Read more...]
Amazon has 100 million Prime Subscribers Worldwide
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has finally divulged that there are 100 million Prime Subscribers worldwide. This is the first time official figures have ever been released. In 2017 Amazon shipped more than five billion items with Prime worldwide, and more new members joined Prime than in any previous year – both worldwide and … [Read more...]