USA

In a limitless world of digital goods, powerful search and recommendation engines, near-zero marginal cost of digital production, storage and distribution, niche products shall get much more market relevance. "Selling less of more" is part of what the "Long Tail" theory has been preaching.

Does it apply to the creative industries too? And how? Should digital book publishers reduce attention on blockbusters and increase focus on the Long Tail as the source of the most profitable growth? Is there a space for unlimited growth of niche ebooks?

Amazon, if you're reading this, we need to talk.

There's been a flurry of blogging, largely from the USA, around the recent announcement of your new service, Kindle Unlimited (not yet available in the UK).  For $10 a year, Kindle users have unlimited access to 600 000 e-books and a couple of thousand e-audiobooks.

People have been asking "Why do we need libraries anymore?"

Some of the blogs have been looking at the possible impact on public libraries, with a couple taking the predictable line of "Hey! Why do we need expensive buildings

Amazon has a tendency to polarize people. On one hand, there is the ruthless, relentless, ferociously efficient company that's building the Sears Roebuck of the 21st Century. But on the other, there is the fact that almost 20 years after it was launched, it has yet to report a meaningful profit. This chart captures the contradiction pretty well - massive revenue growth, no profits, or so it would seem. But actually, neither of these lines gives you a good sense of what's really going on.

Amazon discloses revenue in three segments - Media, Electronics

If you’re in the USA, you have a Staples in your area and they still have 2013 Nexuses in stock, you might be able to get a really good deal. Android Authority has the details on a coupon good for $100 off the 16 GB and 32 GB Nexus 7 tablets. This would cut their […]

The post Staples offers 2013 Nexus 7 for $99 with clearance coupon appeared first on TeleRead: News and views on e-books, libraries, publishing and related topics.

If you could use a good chuckle, webcomic “Help Desk” has just started a storyline focusing on e-book DRM. It seems to have been inspired by the letter that Cory Doctorow received from Hachette about DRM. Since some authors publish with Tor in the USA but Hachette in the UK, and Tor went DRM-free two […]

The post Webcomic ‘Help Desk’ takes on e-book DRM appeared first on TeleRead: News and views on e-books, libraries, publishing and related topics.

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