Amazon pulls Macmillan publications from the Kindle over price dispute
It what might be the first sign of Amazon feeling the pinch of the iPad, the major ecommerce site has pulled publications from Macmillan from the Kindle store in what is being described as a dispute over prices.
Amazon has long raised the ire of book publishers by demanding that the prices for e-books be kept at $9.99 and lower for publication on its popular Kindle e-reader. There have been rumors that the book publishers have wanted the prices higher, but Amazon has insisted on this price if the books were to be made available on its platform.
After the announcement of Apple’s iPad on Wednesday, which features an e-book reader and store, it seems at least one publisher has been motivated to tell Amazon how unhappy it is. According to a source speaking to The New York Times under the guarantee of anonymity, Macmillan, one of the largest book publishers in the country, has been pushing Amazon to raise the average price of e-books to around $15. Unlike the situation on the Kindle, Apple is allowing publishers to set their own prices for their books that will be sold on the iPad, so this is sure to be a point we will be hearing more and more about in the coming weeks and months.
There is no word on what the current situation is between Amazon and Macmillan, or what it will take for those books to return to the store. At this point I would imagine this is going to be harder on Amazon than it will be on the publisher. If it becomes a fight between Apple and Amazon based on who offers the wider selection of books, having Macmillan on your device could be a deciding factor.
Amazon may have had a head start of over two years in the e-reader market, but when the 500-pound gorilla known as Apple starts eying your market, it may have all been for naught.
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