Amazon is no stranger to controversy. From remotely deleting titles from the Kindle to requiring POD publishers to use Amazon’s BookSurge. And despite these controversial moves, they continue to blaze trails through the digital publishing world.

It’s not surprising there are many who aren’t too happy about Amazon’s growing dominance in publishing. Some are even saying that Amazon is wrecking the publishing industry. The biggest beef publishing insiders have with Amazon, is their highly aggressive digital publishing platform that include several imprints:

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File this post under “More fearmongering about the end of publishing.” Another industry analyst has come out saying that the publishing industry is in serious trouble. And guess what’s being blamed? Ebooks!

I’d love to be able to ignore these types of articles, but I just can’t help trying to counter the techno-phobia out there by people who can’t envision publishing being anything more than selling traditional print books.

An analyst from IHS iSuppli gives us this dire warning:

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We’ve known this has been coming for a long time. And now it’s here. The New York Times has implemented it’s paywall in an attempt to increase revenue.

NYT offers three subscription levels. For $15 you get unlimited access to everything on the NYT website. For $20, you get unlimited access to the website plus access to their tablet app. Finally, for $35, you get all the above plus access to their smartphone app. Note that all plans are billed in increments of 4 weeks.

Why they can’t just have the two plans: The basic $15 and the $35 plans. It seems silly to pay $20 for website access and tablet access only.

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HarperCollins is implementing a new policy for public libraries – a library may only ‘loan’ out an ebook 26 times. The problem with HC’s decision is that they are ignoring the new, and very different, economics of ebooks.

Ebooks have an infinite supply. As long as there’s a digital ebook file, the book can be distributed to an infinite number of people without printing, shipping or storage costs.

The reason for the limits on library lending are sketchy, at best. John Marshall, President of Sales for HC, said this:

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Newly released numbers show just how much now-bankrupt Borders owes its vendors. It’s been known for a while that a few publishers have stopped shipping books to their stores.

Now the challenge is for the 2nd largest bookstore chain come up with a way to dig out of bankruptcy. From the talking heads on the news, no one is holding their breath that Borders will emerge from this crisis.

Publishers aren’t holding their breath either. According to a Publishers Weekly article, they want to see a better strategy from Borders.

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Borders filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy today after several weeks of anticipation and speculation about the future of the floundering bookstore.

Under Chapter 11, Borders will be able to reorganize by closing down roughly 30% of their stores and renegotiate their debt with several publishers (some of whom have stopped shipping to Borders stores).

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When News Corp unveiled their iPad-only publication ‘The Daily’, I was excited. There was a lot of hype surrounding the app’s release. But after one day, my excitement disappeared.

The app is well designed with great pictures and video. That’s where the positives end.

Responding to an increasing amount of complaints, the Office of Fair Trading (OTF) launched an investigation into ebook prices. The agency says they are seeing whether certain publishers and retailers have made anticompetitive pricing deals.

The investigation is still in its early stages, so there’s not a lot of details. But it is being reported that the new agency pricing model is under the spotlight:

The OFT will not specify exactly what the investigation entails, but a report in the Wall Street Journal claims that it relates to the “agency pricing model” which sees publishers set the price of e-books, as opposed to retailers. This model is used by Amazon’s Kindle store and Apple’s iBooks store in partnership with publishers including HarperCollins and Penguin.

A similar investigation has been launched in the US by the Connecticut Attorney General last August.

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News Corp Launched their much anticipated e-newspaper ‘The Daily‘ that will be available exclusively on the iPad

I walked into my local Borders a few days ago and was shocked at what I saw. A store that had once been well laid out, friendly and fun to visit had turned into something else.

It was unorganized, with a lot of sales floor space being taken up by clearance bins and tables. The Customer Service desk was gone, replaced by a display of all the ebook readers they sell. Booksellers walk around with radios connected to little earpieces.

Borders also changed their membership program. They now offer a $20/year membership that gives customers bigger savings, up to 40% off hardcover bestsellers and free online shipping. There’s little doubt that they started selling a premium membership to increase revenue.

Borders is hurting and the news for the new year doesn’t look good.

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