Google has just signed an agreement with eight Canadian news organizations for access to select paywalled content as part of the new licensing deals. The Canadian publishers are Black Press Media, Glacier Media, The Globe and Mail, Metro Media, Narcity Media, SaltWire Network, Village Media and the Winnipeg Free Press. They represent more than 70 national, regional and … [Read more...] about Google News Showcase will now include Canadian News Publishers
Digital Publishing News
Nubico ebook platform has been sold to Nextory
Telefonica has just sold their Nubico ebook service to Nextory, a Swedish company. The platform was originally developed in 2013 and currently offers an unlimited platform, with a library of 50,000 books and 80 magazines for €8.99 per month. Nextory will continue to offer the standalone service in Spain, and populate it with hundreds of thousands of audiobooks and ebooks, while … [Read more...] about Nubico ebook platform has been sold to Nextory
UK Government approves S&S and Penguin Random House Merger
The Competition and Markets Authority in the United Kingdom has approved the merger of S&S by Penguin Random House. They acknowledge that PHR controls 30% of all books sold and S&S only has 5% market share, so the CMA believes that the Parties do not compete particularly closely with each other and that the Merged Entity will face sufficient remaining constraints … [Read more...] about UK Government approves S&S and Penguin Random House Merger
Amazon, DPLA Finally Join Forces on Library Lending
It's been a long time in the making, but Amazon Publishing finally has some big news to share: the traditional arm of Amazon's company will work with Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) to put its 10,000-plus titles in libraries. Previously, Amazon Publishing has not offered ebook lending through public libraries, unlike many traditional publishers--albeit publishers who … [Read more...] about Amazon, DPLA Finally Join Forces on Library Lending
Audiobook Scams Highlight the Issues in Self-Publishing
From the earliest days of self-publishing, scammers have been looking to make a buck. From paid review scams to enticing followers to download books simply for the pages views, there's no end to the ways people have taken advantage of these opportunities in a negative way. Every time a platform offers a new feature, someone figures out how to game the system, leaving … [Read more...] about Audiobook Scams Highlight the Issues in Self-Publishing
Naver completes their acquisition of Wattpad
The South Korean company Naver, has just completed their acquisition of Toronto based Wattpad. The $600 million dollar price tag gives Naver, a competitive advantage against the Amazon Kindle Vella and Kakao. If you have not heard of Naver before, they are the company behind Webtoon, a digital comics platform. Wattpad’s co-founders Allen Lau and Ivan Yuen will continue their … [Read more...] about Naver completes their acquisition of Wattpad
Harpercollins completes the acquisition of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Harpercollins is the number two publisher in the United States, behind Penguin Random House. The company has just completed the acquisition of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt’s consumer division for $349 million. The deal was originally announced in March and everything was completed very quickly. HMH Books & Media has a backlist of more than 7,000 titles and a significant … [Read more...] about Harpercollins completes the acquisition of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Major Publishers are selling a ton of ebooks in 2021
Harpercollins, Hachette, Simon and Schuster and Penguin Random House are four of the world's most prolific book publishers. In the first three months of 2021, they have experienced very strong audiobook and ebook sales. This trend should continue for the rest of the year, primarily due to COVID and more people shopping online, instead of visiting bookstores. Harpercollins … [Read more...] about Major Publishers are selling a ton of ebooks in 2021
Twitter acquires Scroll, planning a new subscription service soon
Twitter happens to be the new owners of Scroll, the company that offers an add-free news reading experience. Twitter though isn't revealing how much it is spending to buy Scroll, or how it plans to use the Scroll platform in the future. Scroll shot to limelight with its ingenious method that allowed users access to premium news articles with no annoying ads popping up to mar … [Read more...] about Twitter acquires Scroll, planning a new subscription service soon
Authors banding together to get Disney to pay royalty payments
A task force made up authors, spanning a wide array of genres has been formed in an attempt to persuade Disney into paying outstanding royalties for novels and comic books. This relates to properties that Disney has acquired in the past few years, such as Star Wars. When Disney bought the franchise, the company refused to pay outstanding royalties to authors. Disney has stated … [Read more...] about Authors banding together to get Disney to pay royalty payments