AfterDawn: Tech news

Amazon looking to launch subscription book service

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 12 Sep 2011 1:37 User comments (1)

Amazon looking to launch subscription book service Amazon is negotiating with publishers to launch a "Netflix-for-books" type service.
Consumers would pay an annual fee to be given access to a large library of e-books.

The talks are still in their early stages, and are said to already be stalling as publishing execs balk. They believe the service could lower the value of books, and strain relationships with retailers that sell print versions.

Amazon wants the catalog to only include older titles, and will be free with an Amazon Prime membership. Amazon Prime costs $79 per year and give users free 2-day shipping on all purchases through Amazon.

The amount of books would be limited per month, and Amazon will pay publishers "a significant amount" to get the deal done.

Previous Next  

1 user comment

112.9.2011 02:40

Quote:
They believe the service could lower the value of books

Lower the value of something that is practically worthless? People spend 8GB worth of torrent data to download a single movie that plays for 2 hours, downloading a pirated ebook often takes only a few seconds, and can provide days of use if it is a longer book. Anything that gives people a somewhat reasonable alternative to piracy is a good thing.

Quote:
and strain relationships with retailers that sell print versions.

This will not make any changes; the reasons for buying print versions still exist (display purposes, gifts, coffee table leveling).

Quote:

Amazon wants the catalog to only include older titles


I've got a feeling most of the titles that they actually get will be either public domain or total crap. Heck, they couldn't even keep 1984 and Animal Farm on the Kindle for people who paid for said books specifically...how can they hope to get any good titles with a subscription service?

Comments have been disabled for this article.

Latest news

VLC hits milestone: over 5 billion downloads VLC hits milestone: over 5 billion downloads (16 Mar 2024 4:31)
VLC Media Player, the versatile video-software powerhouse, has achieved a remarkable feat: it has been downloaded over 5 billion times.
1 user comment
Sideloading apps to Android gets easier, as Google settles its lawsuit Sideloading apps to Android gets easier, as Google settles its lawsuit (19 Dec 2023 11:09)
Google settled its lawsuit in September 2023, and one of the settlement terms was that the way applications are installed on Android from outside the Google Play Store must become simpler. In the future, installing APK files will be easier.
8 user comments
Roomba Combo j7+ review - Clever trick allows robot vacuum finally to tackle home with rugs and carpets Roomba Combo j7+ review - Clever trick allows robot vacuum finally to tackle home with rugs and carpets (06 Jun 2023 9:19)
Roomba Combo j7+ is the very first Roomba model to combine robot vacuum with mopping features. And Roomba Combo j7+ does all that with a very clever trick, which tackles the problem with mopping and carpets. But is it any good? We found out.
Neato, the robot vacuum company, ends its operations Neato, the robot vacuum company, ends its operations (02 May 2023 3:38)
Neato Robotics has ceased its operations. American robot vacuum pioneer founded in 2005 has finally called it quits and company will cease its operations and sales. Only a skeleton crew will remain who will keep the servers running until 2028.
5 user comments
How to Send Messages to Yourself on WhatsApp How to Send Messages to Yourself on WhatsApp (20 Mar 2023 1:25)
The world's most popular messaging platform, Meta-owned WhatsApp has enabled sending messages to yourself. While at first, this might seem like an odd feature, it can be very useful in a lot of situations. ....
18 user comments

News archive