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Is Amazon Getting Too Powerful?

Libraries and Retailers have always had an uncomfortable relationship. We’re in much the same space in user’s minds around reading but with different value propositions (and prices). As with everything else these days, the firmament is shifting beneath our feet. Indeed the role of Amazon in the retail space is becoming quite strong – too strong?
This posting from the Kindle 2 blog is a great place to start the debate:
Are Amazon + Kindle becoming the Wal-Mart of publishing?
Consider this small part of the post:
“Why is Amazon’s dominance of publishing almost unstoppable?
In the past I’ve talked about the ridiculous amount of traffic Amazon gets –
72-78.5 million people a month (from the US), and add another 46 million or so non US visitors.
Here’s a list of publishing and books related sites and companies Amazon owns –
TeleBook (http://www.telebuch.de), which became Amazon.de.
Bookpages.co.uk, which became Amazon.co.uk.
Joyo.com became Amazon.cn.
Abebooks (used and rare books) which gets 1 million people a month.
LibraryThing.com (book social network) gets 534K people a month (Amazon has a 40% stake).
Audible.com (audio books) gets 453K people a month.
MobiPocket.com (store, software, ebook format) gets 49.3K people a month.
Shelfari (book social network) which gets 48.9K people a month.
BookSurge (book printing on demand) which gets 26.5K people a month.
GoJaba (used, rare, and out of print books).
Amazon Digital Text Platform for self–publishing for Kindle Store.
Brilliance Audio (audio-books).
Fillz (inventory and sales management for books, CDs, etc.)
BookFinder (new and used books and textbooks) which gets 315K people a month.
Are we forgetting something?
Yes! Amazon’s trump card – Kindles + the Kindle Store.”
If you’ve been following some of the issues associated with the Kindle lately and the ‘cataloguing mistake’ that shone a big light on the power of Amazon to potentially move the market dynamics in a direction that they choose.
Are libraries strong enough to provide another parallel path? Can we offer the same technologies or will powerful interests ice us out? Will copyright remain or move towards a better balance of author and end user rights? Will special need be addressed such as the right of the visually impaired to have text read to them mechanically?
The role of our associations to represent alternative positions in this era has never been more important.
It would be shame if libraries couldn’t provide access to everything.
Stephen

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Posted on: April 22, 2009, 12:37 pm Category: Uncategorized

By: stephen

rev="post-2323" 1 comment

One Response

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  1. LisatheLibrarian said
    on April 22, 2009 7:04 pm

    I don’t know about “too powerful”, but it is interesting to see how much in the book publishing world that they own. I am stunned to see MobiPocket on there, as it seems to be a direct competitor to the Kindle. Until now I seeing it as a more open alternative to the walled-garden of the Kindle. You question whether libraries can compete by offering the same technologies and more access, but this will be difficult. Libraries are not “The Library”, but an assortment of thousands of public and academic institutions with varying amounts of funding and capabilities.