Microsoft launched their digital bookstore last month and many people in the publishing industry were uncertain how they managed to populate it with 50,000 titles so quickly. Good e-Reader has learned that the Ingram Content Group powers the entire Microsoft bookstore and 700 publishers are taking part.
With the Windows 10 Creators Update we are excited to bring books to the Windows Store,” said Alex Holzer, Director, Microsoft Digital Stores. “With books in Windows Store, you can discover and read e-books from your favorite authors across genres you love. We are pleased to work with Ingram’s team and CoreSource technology to bring content to readers.”
“We’re always looking to add more distribution channels to CoreSource for our customers,” said Lewis Pennock, Director of Digital Retail Sales at Ingram Content Group. “Offering books in the Windows Store is one of the highest potential sales channels to come to the market in several years; it will be a great opportunity for our publishers to get their books into more readers’ hands across multiple devices.”
Microsoft has not been promoting their new bookstore very well. At the recent launch event of the new Surface laptop and the new Windows 10S operating system, they did not mention it at all. They never talked with any publishers at the London Book Fair or the Frankfurt Book Fair. Aside from an initial press release, it hasn’t been mentioned since. One has to wonder if the Redmond company is serious about selling digital content, or if it’s merely a lark.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
