We’re seeing a lot of very interesting alliances and marriages of convenience (Publishers and Apple colluding on the Agency Model is a good example). It’s worth wondering what eReader, eBook alliances make the most sense given the current circumstances.
Amazon with Independent Authors and Developers
This makes a huge amount of sense for both sides.
Amazon are creating an eco-system and a platform. They need all the help and content they can get.
At the same time we have independent authors looking for a way to reach customers without having to first ‘qualify’ with Publishers and then hand over most of the profits. The Kindle Store offers a 70% cut and open access to readers – both of which are really, really enticing.
Developers are also looking for platforms. The Internet has too strong of a culture of free and too many desperate companies giving away products for free. Find a good product niche online and in a few years a competitor or a giant software company will be competing with you using free as a strategy. In a platform there is a filter that keeps out most of the ‘Free and Open’ people.
It’s interesting to consider Amazon’s use of the ‘active content’ terminology for Kindle Apps. They view the apps primarily as content and in a way they are. Active content from developers and book content from authors will combine to provide Amazon an alternate stream of content – one that is not controlled by Publishers.
Google with B&N and Nook
Google are a late entrant and they have to take on both Amazon and Apple. It’s a rather tough battle unless they manage to round up everyone else.
B&N are probably the only company that’s not a natural fit as they want to sell primarily ebooks. For them Google is perhaps the only choice so they might partner up out of necessity.
An alliance with Google works very well for all other eReader companies. Sony and nearly every eReader company (other than Amazon and B&N) have shown a reluctance to focus on content. With Google they can let Google Editions be the content and focus on the device.
Apple with Apple
Fundamentally, Apple are setting things up to remove everyone else from the equation down the line and take over ebooks the way they took over digital music.
It makes a lot of sense since they have very loyal customers for whom it’s almost a point of pride to only buy Apple products. As they get more and more people into their eco-system they can gradually cut off the non-Apple reasons that attracted people to the eco-system.
Apple with Publishers
Apple had to use Publishers to kill Amazon’s pricing advantage. It allows Apple to actually compete and it slows down the Kindle juggernaut. It also sets up Apple to transfer ‘book buying’ and ‘book reading’ to their eco-system and to their devices.
The benefits for Publishers are immense – they get to try out their Divide and Conquer strategy. They raise ebook prices and slow down the adoption of eReaders and eBooks. In the best case people buy multi-purpose devices and read less and ebooks do badly. In the worst case people are buying $12.99 and $14.99 ebooks.
If it weren’t for anti-trust laws we would see Publishers stop supplying ebooks to Amazon and only sell through Apple and B&N.
Apple with eBook App makers
The simplest way to think of Apple’s plan with respect to books is – First, get everyone to read and buy books on an Apple device – no matter what App it is. Next, set iBooks and iBookstore as the defaults and take over reading.
It makes a lot of sense for Apple to create a platform that has all the major ebook retailers and where readers allied with all the major stores (Kindle, B&N, etc.) can participate. Once these users have bought an Apple device they are primarily Apple customers. They’re buying through the Apple device. They’re reading on the Apple device.
At that point of time Apple can start shifting readers on to iBooks. It’ll be very subtle and it’ll all seem perfectly legitimate.
Amazon with Random House
At first this seems like a questionable partnership – Why would Random House favor Amazon when they are becoming the very structure on which Publishing is built?
Well, the answer is because the well set-up Publishing Houses will always create the biggest hits. Take something like the App Store which is wild and unregulated – The big hits are still from the big companies. It’s the occasional smaller hits that get all the attention and keep the illusion of meritocracy alive.
Random House can continue to deliver the biggest hits and make the most profits. Publishing Houses that fight ebooks will struggle and eventually fracture. However, by embracing the Kindle Store and not hurting its reputation with eReader owners Random House is setting itself up to be perhaps the only Big 6 Publishing House that profits massively from a transition to ebooks.
Readers with companies that are improving things for readers
We’re going to see readers ally themselves with various companies along the way -
- Amazon first as it’s ignited ebooks, proved the viability of eReaders, and established $9.99 as a price point for ebooks.
- Whichever company does away with DRM.
- Whichever company finds a way to lower the price of ebooks further.
It’ll be interesting to see how many Kindle and Nook owners stay loyal to Amazon and B&N if another company introduces a ground-breaking new technology or strategy.
Smaller eReader makers with Telecoms
The wild cards in the eReader/eBook Wars are the Telecom providers that power most ebook delivery networks. They don’t have enough leverage with Amazon and B&N to be able to grab the lion’s share of profits. However, they are most certainly trying to figure out how to come out of nowhere and win the eReader wars.
China Mobile has shown the strategy Telecoms are most likely to use – find a smaller eReader maker, conjure up a subscription plan in partnership with Publishers, and then try to get as many of your subscribers on ebook and newspaper plans as possible.
AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile have a lot of power and the opportunity to make a big impact in the eReader and eBook Wars. It’s surprising that so far they haven’t done anything.
Filed under: thoughts Tagged: | book wars, future of ebooks
I have read your blog each day on my Kindle for over a year and admire and agree with most of your partisan points in support of Kindle, especially versus iPad. I enjoy using the iPad, it’s breakthrough technology but for us bibliomaniacs the Kindle’s convenience and reader oriented features must make it the ereader of choice with one small codicil. For reading books with maps,pictures or diagrams my first choice is the iPad. Has your xenophobia for Kindle prevented you from acknowledging this obvious shortcoming?
I fervently hope that Kindle 3 improves access to non- scripted items.
Sincerely,
Les Jones
No. The ipad is obviously better for books that have lots of illustrations.
Roll-Up Computers and Their Kin – NYTimes.com
http://www.savethis.clickability.com/saveThisApp?clickMap=link&webPadID=B697025697
IF you were one of the few brave readers of printed books in 2007 who crossed the divide into digital reading, your options were sparse and expensive. The original Amazon Kindle, for example, cost $400, and its screen displayed a mere four shades of gray.