Amazon had a dispute with Visa in November, 2021. The company claimed their rates were too high in the United Kingdom and other key markets. Amazon sent out an email to customers stating that on January 19th, 2022, customers will no longer be able to place orders for any products, using Visa, on the Amazon.co.uk website. They clarified that no other credit cards, such as … [Read more...] about Amazon and Visa have come to terms for payment processing on the UK website
Business News
Debating Audiobook Narrators; AI, Human or Both?
The idea of using Artificial Intelligence (AI) as audiobook narrators, instead of humans, has become a focused topic of discussion in audiobook circles lately.In October, a PW article by columnist Thad McIlroy, examined the debate, sparking some reaction from both sides; professional narrators and publishers. In that piece, Mcllroy, profiled several players in this niche … [Read more...] about Debating Audiobook Narrators; AI, Human or Both?
Amazon’s Treasure Truck service expands in the United States
Want to know about exclusive deals on Amazon? Maybe it’s Treasure Truck that you'd like to have access to. For starters, Treasure Truck is a service that you need to subscribe to. It’s an Amazon initiative that is available only in the US and UK where members receive prior information about special hand-picked deals, which also includes the Kindle range of e-readers as … [Read more...] about Amazon’s Treasure Truck service expands in the United States
Audiobook and ebook sales account for 17% of HarperCollins Revenue
In the last three months of 2021, which include the critically important holiday shopping period, HarperCollins sales increased by 13% and generated $617 million dollars in sales. Digital sales rose 8% in the quarter compared to the prior year, driven by growth in downloadable audiobooks. Audiobook and ebook sales represented 17% of HarperCollins overall revenue, which … [Read more...] about Audiobook and ebook sales account for 17% of HarperCollins Revenue
The worst self-publishing company has been sold to Draft2Digital
Smashwords is an independent self-publishing company that has been in business for fourteen years. The company is a cesspool of the worst independent authors who could not get publishing deals. Their entire catalog for the most part, has terrible cover art, books that have not been edited or formatted correctly and comprises of authors you have never heard of before. Their … [Read more...] about The worst self-publishing company has been sold to Draft2Digital
Amazon’s ‘Price-Fixing’ Program Shut Down
Following a recent investigation by the attorney general of Washington, Amazon was ordered to pay $2.25 million and permanently shut down its “Sold by Amazon” program. Fundamentally, it was found that the program was based on price-fixing.In a recent statement issued by Washington's attorney general Bob Ferguson it stated that “Consumers lose when corporate giants like … [Read more...] about Amazon’s ‘Price-Fixing’ Program Shut Down
Blacklisted by Amazon, Chinese sellers flock to Walmart
Last April, Amazon kicked off 50,000 Chinese sellers off their platform and banned their accounts for gaming the review system. This was done because sellers would include coupon codes with the packages, offering cashback for positive reviews, while others were straight paying for reviews, not to mention review farms. Where did all of these sellers go? Walmart, this is due to … [Read more...] about Blacklisted by Amazon, Chinese sellers flock to Walmart
Maryland Digital Works Law Challenged
A precedent setting legal case regarding digital works is currently underway in Maryland. On January 1, a Maryland law went into effect that requires Ebook publishers to license libraries on reasonable terms.Library associations have been advocating for more fair-minded terms which would allow them to access to Ebooks at lower prices. The groups say libraries pay too much … [Read more...] about Maryland Digital Works Law Challenged
Manga Piracy Crackdown Goes Global
Starting this April, thirteen countries are coming together with the goal of fighting intellectual-content piracy. The newly formed International Anti-Piracy Organization (IAPO) requires global cooperation; websites holding pirated content often use offshore servers.Big advocates of film, television, music and the streaming industry are also getting on board. The Motion … [Read more...] about Manga Piracy Crackdown Goes Global
CES 2022 underway, set to conclude a day early
The yearly Consumer Electronics Show that is held in Las Vegas has kicked off despite major companies and brands pulling out. Fears over the ongoing pandemic and the new Omicron variant of COVID-19 have led the organizers of the event to make a tough decision. CES 2022 will conclude a day early, cutting back the last day of the show from Jan 8 to Jan 7, 2022.While the … [Read more...] about CES 2022 underway, set to conclude a day early
Amazon forced to remove ratings, reviews of Chinese president’s book
Chinese President Xi Jinping’s book, The Governance of China is in the news but for all the wrong reasons. For according to a Reuters report on this, Amazon removed all feedback on the book after being nudged by the government there to do so. This happened two years ago so that the book isn't accompanied by any reviews, comments, or ratings on the Amazon China page.Amazon … [Read more...] about Amazon forced to remove ratings, reviews of Chinese president’s book
UK customers can’t buy a Kindle with Visa Cards anymore
Amazon is having a dispute with VISA and their high fees in the United Kingdom. Amazon emailed most of their customers and said that starting on January 19th, 2022, customers will no longer be able to place orders for any products, using Visa, on the Amazon.co.uk website. They clarified that no other credit cards, such as Mastercard, AMEX or Visa debit cards, would be included … [Read more...] about UK customers can’t buy a Kindle with Visa Cards anymore
Indigo Books records a 16.3% profit in the past three months
Indigo Books and Music has reported that in the past three months, which they recognize as the second quarter of 2021. Their strong sales performance has resulted in double-digit revenue growth with improvements across both print and general merchandise that exceeded both last year and pre-pandemic levels. Specifically, sales were $238.8 million, a 16.3% increase over last … [Read more...] about Indigo Books records a 16.3% profit in the past three months
