Penguin-RH Tightens Terms for Public Libraries
4 September 2018 (PW)
All ebooks sold after 1st October will expire after the library has owned them for two years.
Penguin-RH to Launch Academic Library Platform
4 September 2018 (PW)
The publisher will be creating a program exclusively for academic libraries, under which they will be able to purchase perpetual access copies, although at “a significantly higher price” than public library copies.
How blockchain will dis-intermediate everyone except authors and readers
28 August 2018 (Bitcoin Exchange Guide)
In the publishing sector, blockchain is aimed at providing tracking solutions that will help ascertain who bought what title. This will be done through the use of a token that will be attached to your copy of the ebook –think of it as your personal tag or ownership rights. Two companies are currently testing this out. One in Montreal named Scenarex and another in Latvia named Publica.
Here’s What Scribd’s CEO Thinks Of The New Walmart eBook Service
26 August 2018 (Forbes)
“The biggest obstacle for Walmart,” Trip says, “is that Amazon is just so many years ahead in the ebook and audiobook space and already dominates the market. For Walmart to compete, they’ll need to differentiate their offering from Audible and Kindle.”
Walmart has an e-book and audiobook service now and Amazon must be squirming
26 August 2018 (Mashable)
Walmart has partnered with Rakuten Kobo to bring you a never-before-seen e-book catalog, available in Walmart stores and online. Kobo’s library sports over six million titles of New York Times best sellers, indie titles, and children’s books, as well as digital books to complement many of the physical books that the retailer sells in stores. And they’re all in one app. BOOM.
Here is a breakdown of how much libraries pay for ebooks from publishers
23 August 2018 (Good e-Reader)
Major publishers all have different strategies for selling ebooks to the public library system. Baker & Taylor, Overdrive and a myriad of others have to have enough of a selection to keep their patrons satisfied, but it can be challenging to know all of the different prices, terms and models that publishers employ, since they have changed many times over the years. Here is Good e-Reader’s 2018 edition of what publishers charge libraries for ebooks.
New York Public Library Launches ebooks on Instagram
15 August 2018 (Good e-Reader)
NYPL staff writes, “The full book, short story, or novella is uploaded into Instagram ‘Stories’, complete with unique and engaging design elements. The Instagram-specific design includes stills and videos that mirror the unique layouts of the original works. The background is a warmer white that’s easy to read on screen, and the font is Georgia.”
Walmart and Kobo Are Launching Their Partner eBookstore on 21 August
30 July 2018 (The Digital Reader)
I can now point you to a couple new pages on Walmart’s website where you will shortly find Kobo’s ereaders and ebooks. The pages currently contain dummy images, but the section headings and the page URLs give away a lot of the detail.
TOR is delaying front-list ebooks on Overdrive
18 July 2018 (TeleRead)
“TOR books no longer sells their front-list to libraries. We must wait at least 4 months after the publication date before their new titles will be released to Overdrive for us to purchase. They have decided that library sales may be negatively impacting their retail sales and are participating in a study that will attempt to determine the impacts of libraries on the book market and sales, especially regarding eBooks.”
Can Big Data analytics save the eBook market?
3 July 2018 (ITProPortal)
Big data analytics makes it possible for publishers to profile their readers based on “revealed preferences,” thereby using data on actual measured behavior, as opposed to the past practice of relying solely on “stated preference” information garnered from surveys and third-party data. Moreover, advanced customer segmentation enables publishers to use further statistical and predictive modeling and to utilize various metrics…
Everything you need to know about Social DRM for ebooks
26 June 2018 (Good e-Reader)
DRM enables retailer ‘lockin,’ while watermarking does not. Despite its lack of publicity, e-book watermarking is becoming more and more widely used – especially in Europe. It is time for the publishing industry to recognize the importance and potential of e-book watermarking. Every book publisher should consider adopting watermarking and advocating its use throughout the e-book publishing value chain.
Google Reopens their Play Books Publisher Program
25 June 2018 (Good e-Reader)
Whenever a title is submitted it will compare the body of text to other books in the Play Bookstore and if it is similar it will be automatically denied. Digital books also have the option to enter an ISBN number and it will fetch some ebook metadata and sales could be tracked from Nielson.
Microsoft offering $5 free credit if you buy a $4.99 eBook in the Microsoft Store
25 June 2018 (mspoweruser.com)
Microsoft wants you to try the Microsoft eBook Store, and to make that first purchase easier they are willing to offer you your first book free. Books can be read in Edge on your PC, but also in Edge on iOS and Android. eBooks are only available for US-based users. [How this works with agency pricing restrictions is unclear.]
How Barnes & Noble Made the Nook Profitable
24 June 2018 (Good e-Reader)
A small team and outsourcing everything seems to make the Nook profitable in the here and now, but something needs to change for this to occur next year.
China’s TMall Launches e-Reader App
14 June 2018 (Alizilla)
Tmall developed the new app—called “Tmall Reader”—with Alibaba Literature, the Chinese e-commerce giant’s online business unit dedicated to the written word. It’s hoping to tap into the growing trend of e-reading in China.
Apple Books App Will Replace iBooks
14 June 2018 (Gadgets 360)
The new app, which will debut on iOS 12 later this year, comes as a refresh of the original iBooks app. It offers ebooks and audiobooks through dedicated tabs to iPhone and iPad users. The app also includes a new Reading Now tab that will host all the ebooks and audiobooks that you’re currently reading or listening to.
Tmall Launches E-Reader App as China’s Bookworms Go Digital
14 June 2018 (Alizila)
The app, now available for download from both iOS and Android app stores, offers access to titles, ranging from business and children’s stories to Chinese translations of popular foreign authors. The collection will expand as titles from the nearly 3,000 booksellers and 300 publishers on the platform are added to the app.
UK extends Public Lending Right scheme to ebook authors
7 June 2018 (UK Government)
From July 1, the Public Lending Right Scheme will cover ebooks and e-audiobooks that are loaned from public libraries across Great Britain. The change means that authors are eligible for payment in the same way if their works are borrowed electronically or as physical books.
Microsoft will implement a 95% revenue share for Windows 10 Apps
10 May 2018 (Good Ereader)
Young startups and independent developers will have a financial incentive to make a Windows 10 version of their audiobook or ebook app, instead of just relying on the Apple App Store or Google Play.
AAP: Publisher eBook Sales Fell almost 5% in 2017
9 May 2018 (The Digital Reader)
Trade revenues were essentially flat (a 1.3% increase), while ebook revenues fell 4.7%. After two years of declines, both University Presses (+5.3%) and Professional Books (+8.4%) – which include business, medical, law, scientific and technical books – saw revenue growth in 2017.
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