Worldwide ebook sales are drastically climbing and the big five publishing companies are now seeing 22% of their revenue stem from digital sales. Today we have a bit of insight on the global business of ebooks by Scott Devitt, an analyst at Morgan Stanley. In 2012, the global ebook market saw $859 million in confirmed sales, up from the original estimate of $567 million made … [Read more...] about Worldwide eBook Sales Valued at $859 Million in 2012
Business News and Statistics
Livrada Secures New Funding for eBook Gift Cards
Authors and Publishers are finding new challenges when selling or giving away digital content at live events, book signings, and conferences. Digital, by its very nature, is intangible, which makes giving copies away difficult. Livrada is hoping to make giving away electronic books more manageable with its gift card program. Ingram is buying into this model of content … [Read more...] about Livrada Secures New Funding for eBook Gift Cards
Vook Partners with Authro for eBook Trailers
Traditional book trailers have been around for decades and have found massive success with television campaigns. One of the drawbacks of going the ebook approach, is the lack of advertising models for indie authors. Vook is hoping to get a leg up on the competition by offering a $100.00 discount to authors who publish with them to make ebook trailers via Authro.You will … [Read more...] about Vook Partners with Authro for eBook Trailers
Kobo Promotes Michael Tamblyn to Chief Content Officer
Michael Tambyln has been working hard at Kobo during the past four years and has just been promoted to Chief Content Officer. He mainly oversees content acquisition and sales, publisher and industry relations, and localized merchandising experiences across all of Kobo’s online and mobile services. You could say that Michael is a workaholic and is a driving force in promoting … [Read more...] about Kobo Promotes Michael Tamblyn to Chief Content Officer
Hearst Digital Magazines to Undergo a Rapid Transformation
Hearst Publishing has verified today that the company's entire magazine library will be undergoing a dramatic change. Hearst intends on employing a new design to all of its standalone websites to appeal to any sized screen on a mobile device, tablet, or PC. Tom Smith, Hearst’s vice president of technology and strategy, called the new initiative a "responsive design."The new … [Read more...] about Hearst Digital Magazines to Undergo a Rapid Transformation
Overdrive Launches Free eBook Trial for Schools
Overdrive is the largest company that facilitates the digital lending of ebooks for the vast majority of libraries and schools. The company is launching a new pilot program that will allow schools to try the system for free and see if it will be a good fit for the staff and student body alike.With this free trial, schools can lend almost 1,000 popular and educational ebook … [Read more...] about Overdrive Launches Free eBook Trial for Schools
Amazon to Release New Virtual Currency for the Kindle Fire
Amazon intends on developing its own virtual currency this May, which will allow Kindle Fire owners to purchase apps and games. The new program dubbed Amazon Coins, will also allow users to purchase in-game items.“Amazon Coins gives customers an easy way to spend money on developers’ apps on Kindle Fire in the Amazon Appstore,” said Paul Ryder, vice president of apps and … [Read more...] about Amazon to Release New Virtual Currency for the Kindle Fire
Kobo Lowers Commission Rates on Affiliate Program
Kobo has officially announced that it is lowering its commissions on their affiliate program across the board. Kobo is decreasing it from 8% to 5% from this day forward. The company is also scrapping its tiered system that allowed people who grossed over $1500 in sales to be bumped up to 15%.Brad Scott, the man in charge of the affiliate program cited the reduction in … [Read more...] about Kobo Lowers Commission Rates on Affiliate Program
Startup TotalBooX Begins Selling eBooks by the Page
Many digital readers have found themselves of the predicament of reading a badly formatted book and wishing they could have their money back. In other cases, students may only need a few specific chapters for a research project and might not want the complete e-textbook. A new startup from Israel by the name of TotalBooX is seeking to sell books by the chapter, something … [Read more...] about Startup TotalBooX Begins Selling eBooks by the Page
Moon+ Reader Removed from Google Play Due to Piracy Allegations
Moon+ Reader is one of the better e-reading apps out there and has been around a number of years. It has a storied development history and was available in Google Play and iTunes. We have confirmation that today both app markets have removed Moon+ Reader due to allegations of ebook piracy.Apparently Moon+ Reader was not alone in the recent piracy probe, and other reading … [Read more...] about Moon+ Reader Removed from Google Play Due to Piracy Allegations
ABA Indie Bookstores Can Now Pre-Order Kobo eBooks
The American Bookseller Association has just launched a new program for indie bookstores. Customers now have the ability to pre-order ebooks that are due to be released in the next few months from Kobo.Pre-ordering is fairly simple. If your favorite indie bookstore sells e-readers or ebooks from Kobo, you merely have to visit the store's website. Customers can click on the … [Read more...] about ABA Indie Bookstores Can Now Pre-Order Kobo eBooks
Good e-Reader Introduces New Kids App Market
Good e-Reader is proud today to announce the creation of our new children's App Market! Thousands of games, learning, multimedia, painting, and other apps are freely available for download.Currently, our main app store has over 17,000 Android and BB10 apps in our App Market. We have fielded hundreds of requests from not only parents, by companies such as Leapfrog and V.Tech … [Read more...] about Good e-Reader Introduces New Kids App Market
Google Starts French Digital Publishing Innovation Program
Eric Schmidt and French President François Hollande announced a new digital publishing deal today. Google is setting up a €60 million innovation fund to help French News Websites and other publishers monetize their online contentEuropean publishers and Google have had contentious interactions during the last year. Publishers in France, Germany, and Italy petitioned their … [Read more...] about Google Starts French Digital Publishing Innovation Program
e-Ink Technology Transitions from eReader Screens to Keyboards
e-Ink Holdings is best known for producing the easy to read screens found in your favorite e-readers. Everything from the Kindle Paperwhite to the Kobo Glo all use these screens. They draw less power and are able to display images without hampering battery life. Typically, an e-reader lasts months without a re-charge. Concept design firm Yanko might have developed the next mega … [Read more...] about e-Ink Technology Transitions from eReader Screens to Keyboards