Review: The behind-the-scenes drama revealed
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 06 22, 2013
I bought my first Kindle e-book reader in early 2009. Like many buyers, I was intrigued with the idea of carrying a whole library around in a small electronic reader. But the real incentives in spending over $300 for the Kindle were the $9.99 bestsellers that Amazon was selling. However, a year after I bought the Kindle, the $9.99 deals suddenly vanished when a new e-book seller - Apple, with its release of the iPad - negotiated deals with the biggest publishers, forcing Amazon to go along with a new pricing model that raised e-book prices by several dollars. Eventually, the publishers agreed to settle the resulting antitrust lawsuit out of court, refunding $175 million to consumers (with the money expected to begin flowing to e-book consumers as e-book-buying credits in the near future). But Apple refused to settle, and that lawsuit is being decided in a federal courthouse as I write this.I was aware generally of these events, but author Andrew Richard Albanese has described the events and issues very clearly in this absorbing 58-page Kindle Single. I was not aware that the publishers were actually netting more money with Amazon selling their e-books for $9.99 than they were afterward when the price went up to $12.99 or more. Amazon had been selling bestsellers at below cost to boost sales of the Kindle, betting that readers would buy other (profitable) books as well. The book includes a lot of interesting tidbits, including Steve Jobs' reluctance to get Apple into the bookselling market until he saw the possibilities of the new iPad as an e-book reader. At that point, Apple began aggressively making its case to the publishers.It's a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the backroom drama that has played out since Apple's decision in 2010 to go "all in" in the battle for e-book sales. It's hardly just an academic issue. The outcome will affect e-book pricing for years to come for millions of readers.Note: The author stated that some of the evidence in the antitrust case against Apple has been redacted or sealed, so all the facts may not be known for some time yet, if ever.