Amazon succumbs to Macmillan's pressure

Amazon surrendered to publisher Macmillan's demands and has agreed to raise prices on its e-books from the initial $9.99 to $14.99. This has sent shock waves in the publishing world. Here're the details...

Amazon shocked the publishing world by removing access to the Kindle editions as well as printed books from Macmillan, one of the country's largest publishers. The Amazon's change in price policy will allow the publisher to set prices for ebooks available for Kindle. The prices will be raised subsequently from $9.99 to $14.99.

The fight over prices between Amazon and Macmillan initially prompted the online retailer to suspend purchases of all Macmillan titles. However, Amazon defended its surrender by saying, 'Macmillan has a monopoly over their own titles, and we will want to offer them to you even at prices we believe are needlessly high for e-books.'

Amazon has been strategically selling e-books for a low price for making profits in the Kindle sales. Digital Macmillan titles will now cost $12.99 to $14.99. Amazon's decision will benefit Apple's Chief Steven Jobs who can now compete with Amazon on fairly equal footing, reports the New York Times.