Amazon to offer Pay per Page and Digital Access to Purchased Books   11/8/2005 - 1,055 views,

Amazon is not the only one moving to a pay-per-page model. Publishing giant Random House has said that they also intend to put their own books online soon, and to offer a pay per page service. Said Richard Darnoff, President of the corporate development division of Random House, “We believe that it is important for publishers to be innovative in providing digital options for consumers to access our content.”

Amazon’s other service will allow customers who purchase hard copies of a book to access the book’s content in digital format as well, for a fee.

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos explained, “We think this is a big deal. If we can bring the world of books to customers, wherever they happen to be, that’s a worthwhile thing to work on.”

With the lawsuits against Google over scanning books and putting their content online, how does the Association of American Publishers feel about Amazon’s and Random House’s plans, and pay per page in general? According to Association director Judith Platt, “We are willing to embrace the digital environment with open arms, but it needs to be done in a way that respects publishers and authors.”

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