Macmillan has reached a multiyear distribution agreement with Amazon to distribute its print and eBooks, beginning on January 5, 2015.
John Sargent, CEO of Macmillan, revealed the news in a blog post earlier this week. “All our other retailers will also be on the agency model, leaving Apple as the only retailer who is allowed unlimited discounting. Irony prospers in the digital age,” he wrote. “This odd aberration in the market will cause us to occasionally change the digital list price of your books in what may seem to be random fashion. I ask for your forbearance. We will be attempting to create even pricing as best we can.”
Under the new terms, authors will continue to earn the same net percentage of the proceeds they always have from eBooks, based on the sale price of their book.
Macmillan will also begin testing a new eBook subscription in the coming weeks. “Several companies offer ‘pay per read’ plans that offer favorable economic terms,” wrote Sargent. “We plan to try subscription with backlist books, and mostly with titles that are not well represented at bricks and mortar retail stores. Our job has always been to provide you with the broadest possible distribution, and given the current financial and strategic incentives being offered, we believe the time is right to try this test.”
