Amazon clearly has a monopoly over the book publishing industry. Although they finally backed down to Macmillan, their initial refusal proves that they are used to getting what they want. Amazon assumed that Macmillan would surrender, and in this case they were proven wrong.
This means a couple of things for book publishers. Primarily, there is no argument that Amazon is a force to be reckoned with. With its POD/distribution company, e-book platform and retail capabilities, saying no to Amazon is a risk, especially for small publishing houses, whose worth seem trivial in comparison to Amazon’s wealth. Macmillian stepping up to Amazon proves both its company’s power in the publishing realm and also that it is possible to say no to Amazon and survive.
The danger in this can be found in the line “absolute power corrupts.” It does indeed. With Amazon having full control of the industry, they basically have full control of what sells and what doesn’t. Amazon has gained control over book content and monetary value. have the power to censor or play big brother. Everything must meet their approval to be sold on their site. They can also place more emphasis on titles coming from their POD/distribution company and set the price of the market. This also means less work for book distributors because Amazon already has their own. With their finger in every aspect of the process, there will be less work available in the publishing industry.
The benefits for the consumer would be if other stores tried to compete with Amazon’s prices and or shipping charges. Another benefit would be consistency and dependability. Patrons will know what to expect as will publishing companies trying to distribute their books through Amazon. No one will really feel the need to shop around, when they can just go directly to the source.
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