Eddie Vega, Editor Noir Nation
The U.S. Department of Justice has filed an antitrust suit against MacMillan and other legacy publishers for conspiring with Apple to increase eBook prices. It was the right call.
Instead of trying to understand the implications of digital delivery of literary content on reading habits, Legacy Publishers—the LegPubs, as we call them at Noir Nation—aided by brick & mortar bookstores, including the defunct Borders, and the now struggling Barnes & Nobles, decided instead to maintain their market share by colluding against Amazon, an innovative company which has changed international publishing and retail markets forever.
What does it mean if the world is round and not flat? Asked bold seafarers like Christopher Columbus. It means a pandemic reach. It means easier, safer, and faster access to the global markets.
Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s founder, asked similar questions about books. And the result was a revolution in thought and habit. As Bezos built his globe-setting digital ship, the LegPubs were racing each other in their day boats, happy in their little harbor.
Even little harbors have access to the sea, but one does not sail the ocean seas with day boats or dinghies, but with a tight ship and a bold crew. The LegPubs, however, didn’t even try day boats. They tried collusion, a dull and lazy way of navigating any problem. And some will now sink.
