Yes. I think NBC is a good example of this. They stormed out of iTunes b/c of a pricing disagreement only to come sulking back months later. Now when NBC left did that hurt iPod sales? Of course not.
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Random House Holding Out From iBookstore Amid Fears of Price Wars
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Yes. I think NBC is a good example of this. They stormed out of iTunes b/c of a pricing disagreement only to come sulking back months later. Now when NBC left did that hurt iPod sales? Of course not.
It's not a bad point about the difference between the two, but I think the fact that the iPad will be bought by professionals (because they have the $$) who commute in large number on mass transit and such, which also happens to be some of their only time free to do recreeational things like read with work/family/etc, you will see a major uptick in reading/book buying from that crowd. Now maybe the mass commuter crowd is not a huge buying segment, but I know where I live the T carries 1.2 million a day, and the Commuter Rail carries another couple hundred thousand. Lot's of ebooks on those lines, and therefore lot's of potential to do to ebooks what the iPod did to other mp3 players.
This won't kill eReading on the iPad. As others have said - there's the kindle app, etc.
What this could potentially "kill" is the iBookstore. Which I think will still do OK with those they will sign. But will it be a true competitor to Amazon or Barnes and Noble. Who can say right now. Without the same content availability, it could be an uphill climb. If they go niche, they could still do very well in the academic world.
As another has said too - publishers aren't in the business of price cutting/etc. That's a retailer's job/marketing/business. And for that matter - publishers aren't concerned with an individual sale. They make their money en masse. They sell cases of books to the wal-marts, amazons, etc of the world. Their business model is geared towards MASS purchases, not individual ones. Which is why they are "stalling" on this new model.
Also consider the PR angle here. Apple is touting their device as the best eReader and the biggest publisher is pushing back. Whether Apple NEEDS RH to be on board or not, it still looks bad in the marketplace no matter how those who think Apple can do no wrong will argue.
And other publishers will can/might be influenced by the "stand off" akin to - If RH doesn't think this model flies, why am I/should I hop on board.
It's going to be an interesting few months regarding the iBookstore. That much is for certain
What this could potentially "kill" is the iBookstore. Which I think will still do OK with those they will sign. But will it be a true competitor to Amazon or Barnes and Noble. Who can say right now. Without the same content availability, it could be an uphill climb. If they go niche, they could still do very well in the academic world.
As another has said too - publishers aren't in the business of price cutting/etc. That's a retailer's job/marketing/business. And for that matter - publishers aren't concerned with an individual sale. They make their money en masse. They sell cases of books to the wal-marts, amazons, etc of the world. Their business model is geared towards MASS purchases, not individual ones. Which is why they are "stalling" on this new model.
Also consider the PR angle here. Apple is touting their device as the best eReader and the biggest publisher is pushing back. Whether Apple NEEDS RH to be on board or not, it still looks bad in the marketplace no matter how those who think Apple can do no wrong will argue.
And other publishers will can/might be influenced by the "stand off" akin to - If RH doesn't think this model flies, why am I/should I hop on board.
It's going to be an interesting few months regarding the iBookstore. That much is for certain
I foresee a new class of publishing company. Imagine 5 editors leaving a big company. They hire a secretary/HR person, a marketing person, a sales person, and an IT/web guy, and setting up an 8 person office that edits and publishes e-books.
You'd have the same editing quality coming from these guys but with a LOT lower overhead for them to cover in terms of company costs. They could charge a lot less for the same quality e-book production.
As an author you wouldn't get the same marketing or the printed books, but let's say all the major publishers turned you down because your book would be too big of a risk for them. But say you're a popular blogger and you know you'll sell to your readers so you pay for this service yourself.
There are ways you can pay for a small run of printed books now...this will be similar, but I predict it will be far more poplular. I bet a TON of successful bloggers will end up writing e-books they only intend to sell to their readers. A publishing house won't be interested, but they could afford to hire a company like this and make just enough money to pay them back. So the book isn't a profit, but it brings more attention to their blog, where they actually make money.
Obviously this won't replace normal book publishers, but I think it will be a whole new market for writers who, today, just get rejection letters and leave it at that.
agreed on Apple's motives. The iPad isn't being sold as an e-reader anyway, it's just an app that can run on it. But my argument wasn't that apple would do anything to try to gain RH, but more so to avoid losing the publishers they're already counting on. The agency model only really stands up when everyone is aboard. You take the single biggest publisher out of that model, and allow they clean even more house at greater profits to themselves, yet lower costs to consumers through Amazon...and you've got problems if you're the other publishing houses. This is a pretty huge development.
Wrong. There are still royalties, marketing, salaries, distribution and other various costs.
But nice try.
Well then he told the story wrong (it's not 'losing x per book') but his point still stands.
They still need to make enough money to pay the fixed costs. If the price goes too low, that won't happen.
So the way he wrote it wasn't technically correct, but the underlying point is right.
Sad. Is it me or has the average IQ been dropping for decades. I have little if any free time, but I skimp on sleep so I can read non work related books.
PS. Like your new avatar.
This makes absolutely no sense.
Apple is offering the exact same cut to publishers as Amazon does for the Kindle but Apple is allowing them to set their own prices whereas Amazon doesn't.
So what if Amazon is charging less than the iBookstore, this already happens with music. I personally comparison shop between Amazon and iTunes before I download an album but the majority of people don't, they want convenience.
I honestly don't see this hurting their current sales of hardcover books. The large majority people who want to read the hardcover, do not want to read it on an electronic device. Those that do use the electronic devices, either already are using them...or aren't reading them at all now.
I don't see how they have anything to lose. I'm lazy...I don't want to drive to the bookstore, which may or may not have the book I want in stock. I don't have a lot of time and the free time I have is usually when I'm out and about or at lunch. I refuse to carry a book along with all my other stuff. I have already increased how much I read when I download Stanza for my iPhone. If I'm waiting in a drs office or in line, I can pull it out and read a few pages. If I decide I don't want to read that particular book, I switch to a different one. I can't wait to be able to read these on my iPad on the larger screen!
And I completely agree with the people who have said that these devices, like the iPod did for music, will increase people reading and purchasing books. First, because of what I stated above...the ease of being able to read a bit here and there. Second, because it's easy to get a book. You're at lunch with someone who mentions a book, or your watching TV and they are discussing one...you pull out your iPad and download it right then. This is what I do with music now and I know I am not alone.
Prior to owning an iPod, I could could on one hand the number of albums my mother bought in the past 5 years. Now, she is constantly downloading songs through iTunes. My father is the same way. He got his iPhone and if he wants to hear a song right then and there, he downloads it.
Ease of both use and purchase increase sales.
Like it's been mentioned, it's not a huge deal because you can download these books on other apps, but I think they are going to lose sales on those people like my parents who just want simplicity and don't want to have to have 3 e-book readers on their device.
Apple is offering the exact same cut to publishers as Amazon does for the Kindle but Apple is allowing them to set their own prices whereas Amazon doesn't.
So what if Amazon is charging less than the iBookstore, this already happens with music. I personally comparison shop between Amazon and iTunes before I download an album but the majority of people don't, they want convenience.
I honestly don't see this hurting their current sales of hardcover books. The large majority people who want to read the hardcover, do not want to read it on an electronic device. Those that do use the electronic devices, either already are using them...or aren't reading them at all now.
I don't see how they have anything to lose. I'm lazy...I don't want to drive to the bookstore, which may or may not have the book I want in stock. I don't have a lot of time and the free time I have is usually when I'm out and about or at lunch. I refuse to carry a book along with all my other stuff. I have already increased how much I read when I download Stanza for my iPhone. If I'm waiting in a drs office or in line, I can pull it out and read a few pages. If I decide I don't want to read that particular book, I switch to a different one. I can't wait to be able to read these on my iPad on the larger screen!
And I completely agree with the people who have said that these devices, like the iPod did for music, will increase people reading and purchasing books. First, because of what I stated above...the ease of being able to read a bit here and there. Second, because it's easy to get a book. You're at lunch with someone who mentions a book, or your watching TV and they are discussing one...you pull out your iPad and download it right then. This is what I do with music now and I know I am not alone.
Prior to owning an iPod, I could could on one hand the number of albums my mother bought in the past 5 years. Now, she is constantly downloading songs through iTunes. My father is the same way. He got his iPhone and if he wants to hear a song right then and there, he downloads it.
Ease of both use and purchase increase sales.
Like it's been mentioned, it's not a huge deal because you can download these books on other apps, but I think they are going to lose sales on those people like my parents who just want simplicity and don't want to have to have 3 e-book readers on their device.
But it's more fun to rudely comment on a term you didn't understand.
You are right. Cost of duplicating ebooks = $0.
yes, but you can hire a good freelance editor "on contract". You don't need to go to a full-service publisher for that. You might even find an editor who will work for "points" on the finished book, if they think the book is going to be successful.
The other major service of a publisher is promotion (i.e. scheduling book tours, pressing to get books reviewed, etc). Likewise, you could work with an independent promoter. This would probably be a bit harder to set up & do...
anyway, my point is that I think we're going to see a world of a lot of very small publishers, offering focused services, instead of the current full-service model. Too bad the people who run the current publishing houses are going to be cut-out, and they're scrambling to avoid their fate.
Royalties are a marginal cost. Every additional book sold means that royalty owner gets paid an additional amount.
We're on the exact same page here. Some of these services could be done "on points" too - the e-publisher gets a cut of sales for their services. This would depend on the quality of the book, the name of the author, etc.
Basically, it's re-inventing publishing. All the overhead that's involved with actually printing and shipping physical books can be tossed... and that was a huge part of the old publishing model, and the way that whole industry was organized. In fact, with an e-book, you can continue editing after a book is released. Find an error? fine, fix it... release rev 1.1.
Yes. I understand the concept well. The point being discussed was introduced by "newdeal." And while it might not have been 100 percent "accurate" - for the big picture - it is.
Over the sales cycle of a book, there are costs involved. And while it might not fluctuate per se on a book by book basis - consider that there are costs that fluctuate. Marketing budgets change. Revisions/edits to books take place. And loads of other factors. Perhaps not "huge" on a book by book basis. But like I said - publishers make their real bread and butter on mass sales, not individual sales. So the aggregated amount does add up.
And to the poster that brought in the NBC analogy and said that it didn't affect sales of iPods I think you're not understanding the true discussion.
NBC not selling via iTunes might not have affected HARDWARE purchases. But it did have an impact on iTunes sales. And that's the point. Isn't it?
Those JUST wanting an eReader and expecting the iBookstore to be THE place to get their books might have a challenge.
It's not the iPad that will struggle to take off. It's the iBookstore that might have trouble taking off.
Another poster said people don't necc consider price but convenience. I don't agree. Especially in this still muddled economy. I think more than ever people ARE looking for the cheapest way to maintain their lifestyles. But even if they weren't - on the convenience factor - people are accustomed to buying books at B&N, Amazon, etc. They are not accustomed to buying that content on iTunes YET. So it involves the customer changing it's mindset and current easy/learned "behavior"
Yeah, I'm not sure I understand what the issue is.
Apple: "Hey Random House, instead of letting the stores set the prices, YOU can set whatever prices you want, and we'll just take a small cut."
Random House: "But that will lead to price wars and reduce our profit!"
.... huh?
currently publishers set the cost for their books and stores pay it. To reduce the price of the book the store selling it has to cut their profit, not the publisher. (this lead to many small bookstores dying out due to large chain stores like WH Smith able to made greater cuts)
However, with the apple model the publishers themselves have to cut the price and apple's 30% is simultaneously reduced as a result. This sharing the burden of lower revenue per book does not fit with their current practice of letting the retailer deal with the problem.
This model is completely unsustainable, and flimsy foundation to make long-term business decisions on. How long do you think Amazon will sell books at a loss?
I think Apple should just wait them out... When they come crawling back, make the deal a 35% cut... ;-) well, ok... I guess they don't have to do that.
Yes, but it still opens the market up to a new audience which means new sales. A lot of people want to read but cannot carry a big hardback around with them. It's 4-5lbs of dead weight. If people own an iPad they are already carrying with them for one reason or another -- probably not primarily as a reader. But with the iBook app they can read a chapter here or there where they would not before. The person who typically buys maybe 1 book a year might now buy 2-3. If even 10% of the projected 1 million iPad owners do that in the coming year, that's a lot of found money for publishers.