Taken from:
For one thing, popular works will probably be offered for lower prices across the board. The previous de-facto floor price for new and popular books like "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" was $9.99, but the new agreement would allow booksellers like Amazon and Barnes & Noble to lower the price, bundle them with other books, or even give them away. There would still be restrictions; for instance, on the ways big companies like Amazon could sell the books at a loss. But booksellers would generally be much more empowered to make their own pricing decisions.
[there might be] interesting pricing strategies like subscription models. Imagine paying $10 per month and getting all the books you can read, or subscribing to a specific author or genre without "buying" a single book.
Not every bookseller will be changing its pricing and strategies immediately, but chances are that if big movers like Amazon and these three initial publishers start the ball rolling, others will join in soon enough. Some have complained that the new model makes for even slimmer margins, giving big stores like Amazon even more advantage.
This looks increasingly like the start of a publishing revolution akin to what the music industry went through 10 years ago when iTunes took off. While that laid waste to many mainstays of the music biz, it did have a positive impact: consumers can now get more music for cheaper than ever. The same may soon be said for books."
I think the comment on "what the music industry went through" - technology can be 'disruptive' - and paying a cheaper amount to electronically send thousands of binary digits that make up a book from account A to user B - without paper, shipping, retail stores, salespeople, etc. - makes good sense, just like sending thousands of binary digits that make up music!!! Bring it on!!!
The article notes:
"Three of the biggest publishers -- Hachette, Simon & Schuster, and HarperCollins - have decided to settle w without admitting wrongdoing, while Macmillan and Penguin are fighting it. The settlement proposed has to sit for 60 days before it can be accepted, but as soon as it takes effect, readers could see dramatic changes almost immediately.
[there might be] interesting pricing strategies like subscription models. Imagine paying $10 per month and getting all the books you can read, or subscribing to a specific author or genre without "buying" a single book.
Not every bookseller will be changing its pricing and strategies immediately, but chances are that if big movers like Amazon and these three initial publishers start the ball rolling, others will join in soon enough. Some have complained that the new model makes for even slimmer margins, giving big stores like Amazon even more advantage.
This looks increasingly like the start of a publishing revolution akin to what the music industry went through 10 years ago when iTunes took off. While that laid waste to many mainstays of the music biz, it did have a positive impact: consumers can now get more music for cheaper than ever. The same may soon be said for books."
I think the comment on "what the music industry went through" - technology can be 'disruptive' - and paying a cheaper amount to electronically send thousands of binary digits that make up a book from account A to user B - without paper, shipping, retail stores, salespeople, etc. - makes good sense, just like sending thousands of binary digits that make up music!!! Bring it on!!!
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