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Kobo To Launch Kobo Writing Life Self-Publishing Portal
E-book retailer Kobo finally unveiled plans at BookExpo America for its much-anticipated self-publishing platform.
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The March of the E-books
E-books accounted for 7% of consumer spending on books in 2011 and 14% of units purchased, according to the most recent data from Bowker Market Research. In 2010, e-books had a 2% share of dollars and a 4% share of units. The wide discrepancy between unit and spending gains reflects the lower price e-books have compared to print formats, especially hardcover. The increase in spending on e-books came largely at the expense of hardcover, with the market share for hardcovers falling from 42% in 2010 to 39% last year.
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Penguin and Macmillan Reject Price Fixing Charges
In separate filings this week, Penguin and Macmillan rejected charges that they colluded with other publishers to artificially inflate the prices of e-books.
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Can ‘Bıg Data' Fix Book Marketing?
Thanks to a new generation of software and computing tools, in the future, book marketing will be determined by data rather than by intuition.
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IPG, Amazon Strike Deal on E-books
Three months after Amazon pulled e-book titles off of its site from clients of the distributor IPG over a dispute on terms, the two sides have reached an agreement.
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NetRead Forms Digital Distribution Service
NetRead, the Seattle-based company best known for its JacketCaster software that helps publishers organize and transmit metadata to retailers, distributors, and libraries, has partnered with industry veteran Neil Levin to form NetRead Distribution, an e-book distribution service.
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Follett To Distribute Inkling Digital Textbooks
Inkling, a multimedia textbook publishing platform for the iPad, has reached an agreement with Follett Higher Education Group to distribute Inkling digital textbooks through the more than 900 college bookstores it operates.
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Barnes & Noble and Microsoft: A Win-Win?
Barnes & Noble gets $300 million. Microsoft gets a popular tablet. What’s not to like?
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Demibooks Debuts Storytime iPad App
Demibooks has released Demibooks Storytime, a new e-reader app for the iPad that offers a multi-publisher retail marketplace for interactive children’s books created using the Demibook Composer e-book platform.
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Barnes & Noble in Digital Partnership with Microsoft
Barnes & Noble has created a new subsidiary, temporarily named Newco, in partnership with Microsoft. It will house B&N’s digital assets, as well as its college stores, and will be backed by a $300 million investment from Microsoft.
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Digital Drives Amazon in Big First Quarter
It's hard to find a weak spot in Amazon's strong first quarter, in which total revenue rose 34%, to $13.18 billion. While net income fell 35%, to $130 million, earnings easily beat Wall Street expectations.
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With More Funding, Kobo Steps Up
In the wake of its 2011 acquisition by Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten, e-book retailer Kobo continues to make news. In a phone interview, CEO Mike Serbinis offered a look at the company’s plans and initiatives for the rest of the year. On the heels of Kobo’s plan to set up Kobo “stores within a store” at 100 WH Smith locations, Serbinis said that Kobo will start an “easy-to-use program for authors to self-publish that will provide access to social media tools and let them connect to readers. It’s something we have to do.” Kobo has started a beta self-publishing program, Serbinis said, and “we hope to launch a broader beta program by BookExpo America,” in June.
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Kobo to Open 100 E-Reader Stores Inside WHSmith Shops
E-book retailer Kobo announced an agreement with U.K. retailer WHSmith at the London Book Fair to open branded Kobo shops within 100 WHSmith High Street retail stores in 2012.
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Apple Asks for Trial at Antitrust Hearing
Apple told Judge Denise Cote of U.S. District Court in Manhattan that it will defend itself against antitrust charges at the first hearing since the DoJ filed suit against Apple and five publishers.
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Lerner Publishing Launches Jewish-Interest E-bookstore
Lerner Digital, Lerner Publishing Group’s digital publishing division, announced today the launch of the Kar-Ben e-Bookstore, which is selling e-books for children with Jewish themes.
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Ruckus Media Launches Retail Platform
Ruckus Media Group has developed the Ruckus Reader, an app that houses all of the company’s interactive storybook apps in what company founder Rick Richter calls “the Ruckus ecosystem.”
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Baker & Taylor Partners with Findaway World for Audio Content
Baker & Taylor this week announced a plan to work with Findaway World, creators of Playaway, Playaway View, and Catalist Digital, to launch a digital audiobook platform for public libraries and retailers later this year.
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New Reports Chart the Rise of E-books
Two new reports released in the past 10 days document the e-book market's rapid growth in the U.S. and the U.K., and suggest that a significant global spike is close at hand.
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With End of Retailer Program, Google Rebrands Its Digital Content Under Google Play
Google has ended its Google eBooks retailer partner program and folded its e-book retailing program into Google Play, a newly launched entertainment platform that will offer all of Google’s digital content under one branded service.
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Twists and Turns in Class Action Pricing Lawsuit
The price fixing case culminated March 30 with Hagens Berman filing responses to motions to dismiss the case and to a motion by Penguin to stay the proceedings and move to arbitration.
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