Amazon launches iOS-compatible Kindle Unlimited, a $10/mo. all-you-can-read ebook plan
While the digital music market has been trending toward monthly subscription services for unlimited access, Amazon is now trying the same approach with its dominance in the ebook market, allowing subscribers to read as much as they want for $10 per month.
With many digital titles on Amazon's Kindle platform costing $10 or less, the new Kindle Unlimited service could be a good value for those who read at least one book per month. Not all Kindle titles are available, however, with more than 600,000 books offered, including the "Harry Potter" and "Lord of the Rings" series, the "Hunger Games" trilogy, and the "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" books.
The titles available through Kindle Unlimited appear to be largely the same offered through local library rentals on Kindle hardware, as well as the "Kindle Owner's Lending Library" available to Prime subscribers. But the new $10-per-month subscription provides access to those titles on other hardware, such as Apple's iPad, and also doesn't have restrictions on borrowing periods or number of titles read per month.
Also included in the offer are more than 2,000 audiobooks, covering titles like "The Handmaid's Tale," "Life of Pi," and "Capital in the Twenty-First Century."
"With Kindle Unlimited, you won't have to think twice before you try a new author or genre -- you can just start reading and listening," said Russ Grandinetti, senior vice president of Kindle. "In addition to offering over 600,000 eBooks, Kindle Unlimited is also by far the most cost-effective way to enjoy audiobooks and eBooks together. With thousands of Whispersync for Voice-enabled audiobooks to choose from, you can easily switch between reading and listening to a book, allowing the story to continue even when your eyes are busy. We hope you take advantage of the 30-day free trial and try it for yourself."
Amazon is offering users a free 30-day trial to sample the service, and subscribers will also access a free three-month Audible membership with more than 150,000 audiobook titles available. Other features of Kindle Unlimited include Kindle-exclusive books, thousands of "short reads" that are 100 pages or less, and access to popular Kindle features like Whispersync, X-ray, and Goodreads integration.
While Amazon competes with Apple's iBooks, the online retailer also offers the ability to read its ebook titles on Apple devices, including iPad, iPhone and Mac. Amazon's Whispersync feature will remember the page where a reader left off, and will automatically sync that across devices, including between Kindle-branded hardware and Apple devices.
With Apple's planned purchase of Beats Audio announced in May, the iPhone maker will be entering the booming on-demand subscription streaming music business. But there has been no indication thus far that Apple is interested in offering a similar model for ebooks with its iBookstore.
With many digital titles on Amazon's Kindle platform costing $10 or less, the new Kindle Unlimited service could be a good value for those who read at least one book per month. Not all Kindle titles are available, however, with more than 600,000 books offered, including the "Harry Potter" and "Lord of the Rings" series, the "Hunger Games" trilogy, and the "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" books.
The titles available through Kindle Unlimited appear to be largely the same offered through local library rentals on Kindle hardware, as well as the "Kindle Owner's Lending Library" available to Prime subscribers. But the new $10-per-month subscription provides access to those titles on other hardware, such as Apple's iPad, and also doesn't have restrictions on borrowing periods or number of titles read per month.
Also included in the offer are more than 2,000 audiobooks, covering titles like "The Handmaid's Tale," "Life of Pi," and "Capital in the Twenty-First Century."
"With Kindle Unlimited, you won't have to think twice before you try a new author or genre -- you can just start reading and listening," said Russ Grandinetti, senior vice president of Kindle. "In addition to offering over 600,000 eBooks, Kindle Unlimited is also by far the most cost-effective way to enjoy audiobooks and eBooks together. With thousands of Whispersync for Voice-enabled audiobooks to choose from, you can easily switch between reading and listening to a book, allowing the story to continue even when your eyes are busy. We hope you take advantage of the 30-day free trial and try it for yourself."
Amazon is offering users a free 30-day trial to sample the service, and subscribers will also access a free three-month Audible membership with more than 150,000 audiobook titles available. Other features of Kindle Unlimited include Kindle-exclusive books, thousands of "short reads" that are 100 pages or less, and access to popular Kindle features like Whispersync, X-ray, and Goodreads integration.
While Amazon competes with Apple's iBooks, the online retailer also offers the ability to read its ebook titles on Apple devices, including iPad, iPhone and Mac. Amazon's Whispersync feature will remember the page where a reader left off, and will automatically sync that across devices, including between Kindle-branded hardware and Apple devices.
With Apple's planned purchase of Beats Audio announced in May, the iPhone maker will be entering the booming on-demand subscription streaming music business. But there has been no indication thus far that Apple is interested in offering a similar model for ebooks with its iBookstore.
Comments
How much are the authors getting? Will Amazon pay a flat rate up front or will authors get a residual for each book accessed, even if the person only reads one page? We all know Amazon will be trying to make money on this deal and pay the authors/publishers as little as possible.
Too bad the Kindle Reader sucks.
Apple should match this and the iBooks reader is much better on iOS and Mac OS.
How much are the authors getting? Will Amazon pay a flat rate up front or will authors get a residual for each book accessed, even if the person only reads one page? We all know Amazon will be trying to make money on this deal and pay the authors/publishers as little as possible.
I would imagine the authors/publishers had to go into some kind of negotiation for this. Everyone needs to make money, it's part of the business.
Amazon are scum, they're going to quickly kill small/local business.
Amazon are scum, they're going to quickly kill small/local business.
Definitely not going to argue with you there. I've witnessed many large businesses in my area do that.
It would be nice to see Audible books under this plan. All you can listen to for $120 a year.
It depends on what the returns are. According to Google, the average reading speed is 250 words per minute and the average book length is 64,000 words. This means the average book takes around 4 hours to read. Let's say that people spend an hour a day reading. There's a breakdown of average activities here suggesting older people read more and it's noted as around 1 hour:
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-06-21/how-americans-spend-their-day-less-work-more-sleep-and-tv
They'd get through roughly 2 books per week. Say that the revenue is split evenly and Amazon takes 30% of the subscription leaving $7 between 8 books in a month, this could mean each publisher gets $0.88 for their book but that's not how I'd split it up because someone else will only read 1 book in a month and all $10 would go to that author, which wouldn't be fair.
The way I'd split it would be to take cumulative subscription revenue, deduct the fee and then split the remainder based on words read per author. So for the two readers above, the revenue would be $20 in a month, the Amazon fee would be $6 and the $14 is split between the same 8 authors. One of the authors has their book read twice so they only get double the revenue (assuming same book lengths). This means the revenue per author becomes $1.56 with the one author read twice making $3.11.
The more you expand this model, the more each author can make and on top of that, you take away the pay-wall that prevents readers from even looking at your book in the first place. I personally hate committing to buying books, far more than for movies. $10/m is more than Netflix so IMO is a bit on the expensive side but I would rather have that model than buying individual books outright. If they intro a more limited plan like $5/m and you only get 3-5 books/month or something like that, I'd be happier with that.
How is this a good deal for people who read one book a month that costs $10 or less??
Or should it say, maybe, like, "more than one book per month"? (assuming, of course, that the total of the cost of the books is more than $10 per month.)
Inquiring minds want to know.
It depends on what the returns are. According to Google, the average reading speed is 250 words per minute and the average book length is 64,000 words. This means the average book takes around 4 hours to read. Let's say that people spend an hour a day reading. There's a breakdown of average activities here suggesting older people read more and it's noted as around 1 hour:
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-06-21/how-americans-spend-their-day-less-work-more-sleep-and-tv
They'd get through roughly 2 books per week. Say that the revenue is split evenly and Amazon takes 30% of the subscription leaving $7 between 8 books in a month, this could mean each publisher gets $0.88 for their book but that's not how I'd split it up because someone else will only read 1 book in a month and all $10 would go to that author, which wouldn't be fair.
The way I'd split it would be to take cumulative subscription revenue, deduct the fee and then split the remainder based on words read per author. So for the two readers above, the revenue would be $20 in a month, the Amazon fee would be $6 and the $14 is split between the same 8 authors. One of the authors has their book read twice so they only get double the revenue (assuming same book lengths). This means the revenue per author becomes $1.56 with the one author read twice making $3.11.
The more you expand this model, the more each author can make and on top of that, you take away the pay-wall that prevents readers from even looking at your book in the first place. I personally hate committing to buying books, far more than for movies. $10/m is more than Netflix so IMO is a bit on the expensive side but I would rather have that model than buying individual books outright. If they intro a more limited plan like $5/m and you only get 3-5 books/month or something like that, I'd be happier with that.
I like your explanation but I have a better one. Amazon pays the author/publisher $7 up front then keeps all the money it gets from subscriptions. I'm not assuming the author gets anything once Amazon gets their grubby hands on the book. I'm also not assuming the authors have much say in the subscription model since Amazon is the only unrestricted game in town.
Boycott Amazon. They are trying to squeeze the authors out of any profits and if you don't like there deal they stop selling your books. Amazon is the book monopoly, not Apple. Apple was able to bring cheaper book prices without squeezing the authors out of what they deserve.
The majority of books in Kindle Unlimited stink - they are ones published by Amazon which tend to be one step up from unreadable. They are including some high profile covers to push the service, but as soon as you start browsing you see the Amazon titles take over. The Amazon published books may have a gem here or there (Hugh Howey fans., don't go ballistic). But many are amateurish and reflect the fact that there is very little professional editing.
I am a big Amazon customer - have spent obscene amounts of money on not only books but also tons of physical goods. I am on strike until they stop the fight with Hachette. I see Amazon as trying to break the publishing industry (which they generally acknowledge), but I think it will be very bad for readers if they succeed. I want the curation that Hachette, Simon & Schuster, etc. provide. I am a finance guy - I can tell you the publishers are not fat on excess profits. They are barely surviving, and if the future of books is more "Amazon Digital Services" quality, I want nothing to do with that. My time is worth the $10 for a good book, instead of shaving off four bucks to get dreck.
It would be nice to see Audible books under this plan. All you can listen to for $120 a year.
The AI article doesn't mention it, but a paid subscription to Kindle Unlimited includes a three-month subscription to Audible.
The print and shipping alone wouldn't make up much of the cost, so someone is making a truckload somewhere on printed books.
Ya think?!? How dare a publicly traded company try and make money!
How much are the authors getting? Will Amazon pay a flat rate up front or will authors get a residual for each book accessed, even if the person only reads one page? We all know Amazon will be trying to make money on this deal and pay the authors/publishers as little as possible.
The contractual relationship is between an author and a publisher, not an author and Amazon (except for those few who publish directly with Amazon). According to press reports, Amazon is paying the publishers the regular wholesale price for each downloaded ebook, which means that they have to be losing a lot of money on this program, but I think it's pretty clear that Amazon's purpose is to gain market share and get people in the habit of only ordering ebooks from Amazon (and using Kindle). Since the publisher is getting the regular wholesale price, the authors will get their regular royalty, which is usually based upon list price anyway. (Of course most authors, except for the very top best-selling authors, never earn out their royalty advance anyway, so it's somewhat of a moot point.)
Once they push some other players out of the market, or threaten publishers who won't lower their prices that they won't be part of this program, we'll probably see prices rise in a few years.
Note that most new books are not included in this program - it's mainly catalog titles. (Not that there's anything wrong with that.)
I can’t imagine them having a choice. You know, since it’s illegal for Apple to compete with Amazon.