Over the weekend, Amazon made the stunning decision to stop selling titles published by Macmillan, when Macmillan refused to continue offering electronic versions of its books at the loss-leader price point of $9.99. Of course, nobody can force a bookseller to carry the products of a particular publisher, and nobody can force a publisher to sell their products -- electronic or otherwise -- at a particular price. So each gorilla stood its ground, until finally, Amazon backed down.
With its POD/distribution company (CreateSpace, nee BookSurge) and its proprietary e-book platform (Kindle), Amazon looks less and less like a bookstore, more and more like a publisher -- a publisher who also happens to control the single largest online distribution channel for books, iPad or no iPad.
What does all of this mean for book publishers? What are the dangers and risks of Amazon's growing dominance in the literary marketplace? What are the benefits?
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