Tuesday, February 09, 2010

February 5, 2010, 6:25 pm
Macmillan Books Return to Amazon After Dispute
By Brad Stone and Motoko Rich, in The New York Times

Electronic and paper books from the publisher Macmillan were returning to Amazon.com on Friday evening, ending a weeklong public conflict as the parties negotiated over the future price of e-books.

Details of the resolution have not been made public, but the restoration of Macmillan books to Amazon’s site indicates a peaceful settlement was reached. “I am delighted to be back in business with Amazon,” John Sargent, chief executive of Macmillan, said in an e-mail message.

As it signaled last Sunday, Amazon has relented to requests from the major publishers to move from a wholesale model to an agency model, in which publishers sell e-books directly to consumers and pay retailers like Amazon and Apple a set 30 percent commission. The move allows publishers to raise e-book prices from the default $9.99 that Amazon had set for most new releases and best sellers to as much as $14.99.

Other major book publishers, including Hachette and Harper Collins, have indicated they will also move to an agency model.

So what did Amazon hold out for? The company would not comment, but it is likely that Amazon demanded that no other e-book vendors, like Apple, get preferential access to new titles, or any kind of pricing advantages. Amazon may also have negotiated terms into its agreement with the publisher that would allow users of Kindles or Kindle software to lend e-books to each other.

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