Money Matters, Simplified.
Amazon working on setting up online library -- report
by Anter Prakash Singh - September 12, 2011 - comments
The negotiations are still underway, and it is being speculated that the library Amazon is trying to create would be somewhat similar to the one offered by Netflix Inc.
Amozon.com is in talks with several publishers for launching an online library service, The Wall Street Journal reported.
People familiar with the matter told the Journal that the consumers will have to pay an annual fee to access the online library.
Amazon has not commented on these reports so far.
Amazon's online library
According to reports, Amazon has told the publishers that it is considering the creation of a digital library which will feature older titles.
Amazon has offered publishers a considerable fee for participating in its program. It is also said that Seattle, Washington could limit the number of books that its subscribers can read in a month.
It is also expected that the e-book library would be opened to the Amazon Prime subscribers who currently pay $79 per year for unlimited two-day shipping and to access the digital library of movies and television programs.
It is not known yet if any publisher has joined the program but they are more likely to be interested in the sale of their books than joining an online library.
“What it would do is downgrade the value of the book business,” opined a publishing executive. The publishers also feared that joining such a program could strain their relations with retailers who sell their books.
The negotiations are still underway, and it is being speculated that the library Amazon is trying to create would be somewhat similar to the one offered by Netflix Inc.
Amazon Prime subscribers may get access
It is also expected that the e-book library would be opened to the Amazon Prime subscribers who currently pay $79 per year for unlimited two-day shipping and to access the digital library of movies and television programs.
All this would make Amazon a strong player in this field and would also make the forthcoming tablet of Amazon more desirable.
Amazon is also expected to shortly release a tablet which could give a competition to the iPad.
There are still many issues that need to be resolved before the publishers start joining the Amazon . The publishers would like to take care of their interests and also understand that latest titles could be excluded from this library.
The streaming service of Netflix also does the same.