"agency pricing" entries

The agency model’s impact on ebook pricing

Literary agent Simon Lipskar explains why the DOJ got it all wrong

The agency model has played a key role in ebook pricing models, and the DOJ’s recent ruling has generated a large number of responses from the community. One of the more interesting ones was from Simon Lipskar, President of the Writers House literary agency. I invited Lipskar to participate in a TOC podcast interview so he could talk further about his letter to the DOJ as well as where he sees the ebook market heading.

Key points from the full video interview (below) include:

  • Agency model and ebook prices — Simon objects to the discount restrictions in the DOJ settlement terms, but he also believes the DOJ has “clearly misread the landscape of ebook pricing.” [Discussed at the 2:15 mark.]
  • Did agency drive prices up? — Yes and no. Yes, prices increased for the small list of titles the DOJ cited, but no, prices did not go up across the board. Further, many other factors are forcing ebook prices lower, despite the presence of the agency model. [Discussed at 1:34.]
  • Another small snapshot shows lower prices — Although arguably no more scientific than the DOJ’s approach, Simon compared ebook prices on the Amazon best-seller list to pre-agency levels and arrived at a different conclusion. [Discussed at 5:10.]
  • The role of “market power” — In reality, the “big six” publishers don’t have the same market power in the ebook world that they have enjoyed in the print world. [Discussed at 10:28.]
  • Competition is driving prices down — The “explosion” of ebooks is having more of an impact on pricing than the agency model. [Discussed at 15:40.]
  • Is price-setting by publishers a good thing? — It’s unusual in the physical product world, but that aspect of the agency model makes plenty of sense in the digital world. [Discussed at 22:55.]
  • “Distributed sales” is the future — Simon believes the underlying assumptions we have about how ebooks are sold will be changed as we move away from destination sites dedicated to ebooks. [Discussed at 33:03.]

Read more…

Publishing News: There's no such thing as degrees of DRM

Harry Potter ebooks, Google surveys and the DoJ's investigation.

J.K. Rowling disrupts the publishing industry, at least for this week. Elsewhere, Google looks to help web publishers with survey revenue and Tim Carmody takes an in-depth look at the DoJ's investigation into agency pricing.

The state of ebook pricing

Loss leaders, the agency model and other factors shaping ebook prices.

Joe Wikert looks at the agency model, efficiencies, fixed pricing and other major trends that will drive ebook pricing in the months ahead.

Publishing News: Agency pricing, out of the pan and into the fire

Publishers face antitrust investigations, newspapers must control their ads and data, and a look at the most-read web authors.

Antitrust investigations into agency pricing were opened by the EU and the US. Elsewhere, David Soloff at AdAge offered much-needed advice for newspaper/magazine revenue, and Read it Later used its data to identify the web's top authors.