Publishers Weekly has just published its first e-book in partnership with Vook. The Battle of $9.99: How Apple, Amazon and the "Big Six" Publishers Changed the E-Book Business Overnight examines how the major publishers and Apple managed to shift how e-books are priced in a limited time period. That change led to price fixing charges being filed against Apple and five publishing houses. Closing arguments in the trial are being heard today.
Written by PW senior editor Andrew Albanese and based on court documents and trial testimony, The Battle of $9.99 is a blow-by-blow account of how Apple and the publishers used the January 2010 release of the iPad as a lever to wrest control of the e-book market from the dominant player in the business—Amazon, and its “wretched $9.99 prices.”
“Apple’s trial has generated a lot of media coverage, and has captivated the publishing industry, but for the e-book business, the final verdict matters little,” Albanese observes. “Whether Judge Denise Cote finds that the parties’ conduct was illegal or not, their conduct succeeded in shifting the e-book industry to a new business model. Nothing in the verdict will change that.”
Priced at $1.99, Battle is available today.
