Testing times for publishers

With the announcement of Apple’s iPad and the introduction of Apple into the ebook market through iBookstore it has opened up further competition for the digital book business. As soon as that announcement was made Macmillian where content on trying to take back control by demanding they charge more for book titles or wait six months for new titles.

Amazon has been undercutting e-books selling them at $9.99 losing out at $5 a book. The reasoning behind this is future control of the digital book market. It is a good ploy by Amazon, trying to get users onto their Kindle platform, but this can only last for so long. Surely, Amazon would have seen this coming from Apple. If they had any sense they would have seen this and started planning ahead. Adopting the Agency strategy where publishers set the pricing and online bookstores receive a certain percentage of the cut.

This is an interesting transition for the book industry as once readers go digital they won’t go back. At the same time book publishers have to find a balance between pricing in the traditional format and adapting to the digital world. With Amazon, Apple and Google all vying for a piece of the e-book market it looks set to be a fierce battle. Amazon for now is out in front, with Apple looking set to pounce. The darkhorse could be Google, with their large user base. I’m picking Apple to take it out, like Usain Bolt a slow starter but once moving unstoppable.