Kindle users to get select books early
CNN) -- Bookworms eagerly awaiting the next title from their favorite author may have a new way to access those books early.
Amazon is launching a program that releases select books to Kindle readers a month before they go on sale to everyone else.
Called Kindle First,
the program lets readers pick one of four books a month, chosen by
Amazon editors from a variety of categories. This month there's a
romance novel, some literary fiction, a mystery and an inspirational
book based on a disco song. The books will be officially released
everywhere in December.
Kindle First is free to
Amazon Prime members, while other people will pay $1.99 a month for
their book. Amazon will announce the book selections every month via
e-mail. The books will work on any Kindle device or Kindle app on a
third-party device, so Android and iOS users can get them as well.
For now, the program is only available in the United States.
Early access to books is
yet another perk added to the Amazon Prime membership program, joining
streaming shows and movies, thousands of free Kindle titles, and free
two-day shipping. Amazon Prime is designed to lure customers into
Amazon's vast ecosystem of content and physical goods.
The program is $79 a year, but it makes far more money
on purchases members make, not their annual fees. If you can order a
pair of shoelaces online without paying for shipping, why bother going
to the store?
Granting early access to
content can also be a weapon against illegal downloading. Pirating
ebooks may not get as much attention as movies and music, but its just
as easy to do. If something is available through an official service
ahead of its release date, it makes it easier for consumers to pay for
the product instead of turning to more illicit channels.
Some movie studios have already begun experimenting with making movies available online before they are released in theaters.
Researchers at the
Mercatus Center are studying data for legal and illegal downloads to see
if there's a connection between making content available early and a
decrease in pirating, according to Ars Technica.
Comments
Post a Comment