Apple being sued for price fixing

[Hayles66]

The way it will "play out" has already been more or less laid out by Skull One. Apple and the remaining publishers who haven't already caved will cave or they'll lose the case. The "competitive advantage" Apple gained in all this was to blunt the impact of Amazon's tablet impact among consumers who buy a lot of e-books. Apple likes selling books but they like selling tablets even more. And that's where their strategy was aimed.

The unfortunate collateral damage here is the impact on the remaining independent booksellers. A drop in e-book prices will simply accelerate their demise.

Yes, these are the people who will suffer the most. It's happening everywhere.

Sent from my new iPad using iPF

 

[Skull One]

There is a silver lining to all this. Apple released, for free no less, an ebook creator. Which means publishers are no longer needed. With the advent of "one off printing companies" now starting to take off, not only can writers sell at their cost with no middle man involved, the mom and pop book stores have the potential to cut deals with the authors directly. This is a good thing.

 

[Kaykaykay]

There is a silver lining to all this. Apple released, for free no less, an ebook creator. Which means publishers are no longer needed. With the advent of "one off printing companies" now starting to take off, not only can writers sell at their cost with no middle man involved, the mom and pop book stores have the potential to cut deals with the authors directly. This is a good thing.

I prefer vetting, editing, etc., of books, and expect such middlemen to keep existing. The existing big publishers might die or have to significantly reorganize quickly, or someone else will take their place.

E-publishing means everyone can afford vanity press, which is fine for the writer, but makes finding something well written and well edited even harder for readers.

 

[Niagara]

I prefer vetting, editing, etc., of books, and expect such middlemen to keep existing. The existing big publishers might die or have to significantly reorganize quickly, or someone else will take their place.

E-publishing means everyone can afford vanity press, which is fine for the writer, but makes finding something well written and well edited even harder for readers.

I agree with the above statement. As a writer who has also been an editor, it is getting increasingly difficult to sort out the good writing from the poor writing. Nowadays, it doesn't matter if someone has any writing talent or skills, it doesn't matter how bad their grammar, spelling and punctuation is and it doesn't matter if their fiction is stupid and boring or if their nonfiction is totally inaccurate. If they have the money to spend, they can be instant "authors" and go around playing the book signing game.

There is a need for real publishing houses to weed out the bad stuff. (Not all self published books are bad; just speaking in general.)

 

[Skull One]

Source: Court documents reveal Steve Jobs email pushing e-book 'agency model'

In the recently amended complaint, the states claim that Apple Senior Vice President of Internet Software and Services Eddy Cue, who was acting as Apple's liaison with the publishers, “could not secure one of the Conspiring Publisher’s commitment directly from an executive."

At issue was Apple's agency model which allows publishers to set prices under a "most favored nations" clause that contractually keeps them from selling the same content to other resellers at a lower price. This went against the the then-dominant wholesale model used by Amazon which let resellers set their own prices, sometimes at a loss, in order to drum up sales.

Not all of the five major book companies were on board with Apple's pricing plan, and Jobs apparently stepped in with a personal email in late January.

From Jobs' email:

As I see it, [Conspiring Publisher] has the following choices:

1. Throw in with Apple and see if we can all make a go of this to create a real mainstream ebooks market at $12.99 and $14.99.

2. Keep going with Amazon at $9.99. You will make a bit more money in the short term, but in the medium term Amazon will tell you they will be paying you 70% of $9.99. They have shareholders too.

3. Hold back your books from Amazon. Without a way for customers to buy your ebooks, they will steal them. This will be the start of piracy and once started, there will be no stopping it. Trust me, I’ve seen this happen with my own eyes.

Maybe I’m missing something, but I don’t see any other alternatives. Do you?
​

The publisher reversed its decision and signed on with Apple three days later.

And that folks is why the DoJ is taking Apple to court and now stands a very very good chance of winning.

 

[AQ_OC]

Whatever happened to having a meeting over lunch to discuss this stuff face-to-face rather than pecking out damning emails that resurface years later?

 

[zphone]

Seems that Apple is run by Italians.
The last part of the email ends with Jobs saying 'I'll make you an offer you can't refuse...'

 

[MattIM]

Seems that Apple is run by Italians.
The last part of the email ends with Jobs saying 'I'll make you an offer you can't refuse...'

Zphone, for the most part, you are usually sensitive to inadvertent slurs, but implying Italians are criminal is not very kind...can you find a better metaphor? Thanks.

 

[zphone]

Zphone, for the most part, you are usually sensitive to inadvertent slurs, but implying Italians are criminal is not very kind...can you find a better metaphor? Thanks.

I have a lot of italian friends and even family in Italy who would never be offended by that kind of ribbing in person. I am sure a lot of them loved watching the Godfather without thinking it was a slur. But I usually know better than to think that humor can come through in posts.
You are correct Matt.

 

[AQ_OC]

Zphone, for the most part, you are usually sensitive to inadvertent slurs, but implying Italians are criminal is not very kind...can you find a better metaphor? Thanks.

I took it as he is talking about Italian mobsters, not all Italians. Anyone who thinks all Italians are criminals is the one with the problem.