paidContent reporting:
» Traditional book publishers have so far been reluctant to experiment with new pricing models...but they may have to start soon. The Google (NSDQ: GOOG) eBookstore appears to be planning a Netfix-like e-book rental service, though no official announcement has been made. Scott Dougall, Google Books Director of Product Management, said the company also hopes to offer physical/digital book bundles, but “it’s up to the publishing industry to be more open-minded” about it.
Of course, he’s talking about the big six—smaller publishers have been much more open to experimentation in this area. Andrew Savikas, VP of Digital Initiatives at O’Reilly Media, even said, “I think we’ll move away from being a purchase-based industry. Publishing will move toward…access-based models in which case the actual price of the unit is irrelevant.” You’re not going to hear anybody from Random House saying that any time soon.
» There’s a huge market for foreign-language e-books in the U.S. Barnes & Noble Manager of International Digital Content Patricia Arancibia said the retailer’s sales of foreign-language e-books are now growing faster than their sales of English e-books—increasing over 100 percent each month…
» ...but territorial rights for e-books are a huge issue and source of friction. Currently, a publisher may have the right to sell an e-book within one country, but not another. “The notion that we can or should enforce geographic restrictions on web and digital content is a lost cause,” said O’Reilly’s Saivkas. “I don’t believe territorial restrictions make sense with digital content. It’s not the way the web works.” Again, that’s an area where the big publishers are more conservative: “We are rigorous as a company in terms of territorial management,” said Amanda Close, Random House VP of Digital Sales & Business Development.
http://paidcontent.org/article/419-what-we-learned-about-the-book-industry-this-week
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