Using your eyes to read books? That’s so 2015, according to a new report that says audiobooks are becoming more and more popular while e-book sales have started to slide. [More]
e-books
Supreme Court Leaves Apple On The Hook For $450 Million In E-Book Refunds
By 3.7.16
Nearly three years after Apple was found liable for conspiring with book publishers to fix prices on the e-book market — and nine months after losing again at the appeals court level — the electronics giant has failed to convince the U.S. Supreme Court to hear its case one final time, meaning Apple is now on the hook for $450 million to e-book buyers. [More]
Amazon Puts Mini E-Book Stores In Drugstores In Washington State
By 1.25.16
Back in November, Amazon did something unexpected: the company opened a real-life bookstore in its hometown of Seattle. The company also has a Kindle and Fire showroom at its new package pickup point at UC Berkeley. Amazon clearly wants to move into real-life retail, in some ways, and they have an intriguing new product spotted on drugstore shelves in Washington state. [More]
E-Book Subscription Service Oyster Shutting Down
By 9.22.15
E-book subscription service Oyster (otherwise known as “the Netflix of books” because that’s how everyone describes things now) will be shutting down after two years. [More]
Apple Asks Supreme Court To Hear Appeal Of E-Book Price-Fixing Case
By 9.18.15
Three months after a federal appeals court upheld a 2013 decision that found Apple liable for conspiring with publisher to raise the price of e-books, the company is taking the fight to clear its name to the country’s highest legal authority: the Supreme Court. [More]
E-Book Prices Increase, Sales Slump After Amazon & Publishers Finalize Contracts
By 9.4.15
Just three months after Amazon tied up its bevy of contracts with top publishing houses, it looks like those deals might not be working out well for several companies, as they’ve reported declining e-book revenues in recent months. [More]
Apple Is On The Hook For $450M After Losing Federal Appeal In E-Book Price-Fixing Case
By 6.30.15
Though Apple’s alleged co-conspirators have long since settled and gone about the process of making good for the price-fixing they did not legally admit to committing, the elecronics company had held out in its fight to clear its name, taking the case to a federal appeals court late last year. It seems the electronics company will have to give up that battle, after the court upheld a 2013 decision that found Apple liable for conspiring with publishers to raise the price of e-books. [More]
Oyster, The ‘Netflix For Books’, Aims To Take On Amazon With Launch Of E-Book Store
By 4.8.15
When Oyster launched in 2013, it claimed to be the e-book version of Netflix, offering customers an all-you-can-read lending library of around 100,000 books for a monthly subscription of $9.95. A year and a half later, the company seems to have realized that a buffet of sometimes unheard of books isn’t exactly what consumers are looking for. So in an attempt to bring the latest and greatest titles to readers, the company now plans to secure its foothold in the e-book market with the launch of a retail component aimed to compete with Amazon, Apple and other online booksellers. [More]
Amazon Exec Hopes Agreement With Hachette Ushers In An Era Of Peace With Book Publishers
By 1.15.15
It wasn’t so long ago that all of the world was transfixed by the drama unfolding between Amazon and book publisher Hachette. Now that the petty fighting and shady scare tactics are in the rearview mirror, executives with Amazon have their fingers crossed for an era of peace. [More]
Apple’s Appeal Of E-Book Price-Fixing Verdict May Hinge On Court’s View Of Amazon
By 12.15.14
While all of its alleged co-conspirators have settled and begun the process of atoning for the price-fixing sins they have not legally admitted to committing, and even though it was found guilty of its part in the arrangement in 2013, Apple is still fighting to clear its name. Today, the electronics company once again squared off against federal prosecutors, trying to make the claim that Apple was actually trying to help break up Amazon’s monopoly on e-book pricing. [More]
Amazon, Hachette Reach Multiyear Deal To End Months-Long Feud Over E-Book Pricing
By 11.13.14
The months-long standoff between Amazon and book publisher Hachette appears to have reached a ceasefire with the groups signing a multiyear contract. [More]
Adobe’s Newest Security Hole: Telling The World What You Do With Your Library Books
By 10.7.14
It’s pretty great that in the modern age, you can borrow digital books from libraries, to read at home on the computer or e-reader of your choice. It’s a lot less great that the piece of software most library books use is apparently spying and collecting data on every word you read. [More]
Famous, Non-Hachette Authors Join Protest Over Amazon Feud, Seek Anti-Trust Investigation
By 9.29.14
The ongoing feud between Amazon and book publisher Hachette is drawing out the big names such as Philip Roth, Salman Rushdie and other well-known, highly successful authors. So what sets these authors apart from those already pushing for Amazon to end its standoff with the publisher regarding e-book sales? Well, none of them are actually Hachette-published authors and they signal a new push for federal regulators to investigate Amazon for its allegedly shady e-book pricing tactics. [More]
Nearly 1,100 Authors Say Amazon Feud With Publisher Has Hurt Sales By Up To 90%
By 9.15.14
A month after more than 900 authors signed a letter sent to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos asking him to resolve his company’s ongoing contract dispute with book publisher Hachette, an even larger group of writers has written to Bezos and members of the Amazon board of directors to explain how this standoff has hurt authors. [More]
Amazon Unveils Subscription E-Book Service For $10/Month
By 7.18.14
After accidentally posting info about the service to its site earlier this week, Amazon has officially unveiled “Kindle Unlimited,” a $9.99/month subscription service that offers users access to a library of e-books. [More]
Apple May Refund $400 Million To E-Book Customers (Or Maybe Nothing At All)
By 7.16.14
A year after a federal court ruled against Apple in the e-book price-fixing lawsuit brought by the Justice Dept., court documents reveal the terms of a second settlement that would close the books on state and civil claims tied to the price-fixing issue. But since the deal is contingent on Apple’s pending appeal of the DOJ case, the company could pay out as much as $400 million in refunds or as little as zilch. [More]
Target Enters E-Book Arena With New Subscription Service Partnership
By 5.28.14
If the back and forth between Amazon and Hachette has you questioning where to buy your next e-book, Target has a potential solution for you. The company announced Wednesday it has partnered with Librify to give consumers another option when it comes to buying, sharing and discussing books. [More]
Amazon Flexes Muscle, Pulls Titles In Ongoing Dispute With Publisher
By 5.23.14
When perusing Amazon for a too-good-to-put-down book, consumers often assume the site’s vast library of titles includes all that’s available in the literary world. But the e-tailer is now putting pressure on one publisher by making it hard to find and order that company’s books. [More]
