The only real news in the US Department of Justice’s investigation of the Apple/Publisher price fixing allegations is that there’s no news yet. Apple and five of the Big Six Publishers—HarperCollins Publishers, Hachette Book Group, Macmillan Publishers, Penguin Group and Simon & Schuster—are accused of colluding behind closed doors to set an agency pricing model on ebooks. … [Read more...] about Several Key Players Weigh in on Apple, Big Six Investigation
Big Six
Apple’s Price Fixing Suit May Have Hurt Indie Authors
Apple and five of the Big Six publishers are still undergoing a Department of Justice investigation into an alleged price fixing agreement in order to muscle out Amazon’s 90% control of the ebook market in 2010, just in time for the iPad to make its way to the market. But as the information on the supposed collusion begins to surface, a number of other affected parties have … [Read more...] about Apple’s Price Fixing Suit May Have Hurt Indie Authors
Apple Refutes Price Fixing Allegations
GoodeReader reported last week on the current state of anti-trust investigations against Apple and five of the Big Six publishers. These allegations, initially brought about by a private law firm on behalf of consumers and now taken up by the U.S. Justice Department, claim that Apple and the publishers illegally engaged in price fixing in order to bring down Amazon. And as … [Read more...] about Apple Refutes Price Fixing Allegations
Random House Titles Available for Library Lending…with a Price Increase
The ALA Midwinter Conference was held in Dallas, TX, only a couple of weeks ago, but some major news came out of that event for the American Library Association. Essentially, the leadership finally expressed that it was fed up with the current upheaval in public library ebook lending, with different members of the Big Six publishing houses setting their own rules—from no … [Read more...] about Random House Titles Available for Library Lending…with a Price Increase
Public Libraries Work to Meet Patron Demand for Ebooks
According to some projections, ebooks are the reason more people are reading. According to some librarians, ebook lending is the reason more people are borrowing books. So why is the model not working out too well? The ongoing drama over the Big Six vs. Amazon has left a lot of libraries and their patrons waiting on the sidelines of the debate in confusion, waiting patiently … [Read more...] about Public Libraries Work to Meet Patron Demand for Ebooks
War Between Publishers and Libraries Benefit Small Press Publishers
This time of year lends itself quite well to predictions for the coming year in every arena of business, and publishing is no different. In the ongoing tensions between major publishing houses and public libraries over ebook lending, patrons have lost out on the opportunity to borrow bestselling digital titles but it may prove to be the reason readers turn to some smaller … [Read more...] about War Between Publishers and Libraries Benefit Small Press Publishers
Ebooks Finally Getting the Love They Deserve?
One of the greatest business mergers that grew out of a love/hate relationship has got to be the traditional publishing industry and its newer, shinier counterpart, digital publishing. From the very beginning when consumers were regaled with threats that digital would be the end of books, and when authors were assured that ebooks would lead to career-ending piracy, the two … [Read more...] about Ebooks Finally Getting the Love They Deserve?
Random House Is Last Big Six Publisher On Board With Ebook Lending
This week, GoodEReader has been covering the ongoing tribulations of OverDrive, the ebook lending service to public libraries. OverDrive, which provides a full catalog of ebooks for public and school libraries to lend their patrons to over 15,000 libraries, was stunned this week when Penguin Group demanded that all of their titles be pulled from OverDrive’s catalog, claiming … [Read more...] about Random House Is Last Big Six Publisher On Board With Ebook Lending