In the short term, this will likely be a boon for many authors and/or their publishers (where applicable). It's the long term where lies the danger to both authors and publishers.
Amazon might lose money in the short term—consider that early adopters are likely to skew towards heavy readers—but Amazon doesn't profit anyway, so that's clearly not an issue.
Like dumping best sellers below cost before it, Kindle Unlimited is a calculated effort to train customers that books have no value.
By perpetually pushing down the perceived value of books, Amazon puts eternal pressure on other retailers. The goal is to make book retailing so unprofitable that no one else will bother.
There are two competitors who can afford to not make a profit on books, and that's Apple and Google. Whether or not they're willing to do so remains to be seen, but a successful Kindle Unlimited will take us closer to them needing to make that decision.
This pricing pressure will also affect publishers, of course. As readers are reshaped to expect books for little or nothing, we'll see more consolidation, fewer small publishers, and a further pullback on acquisitions and development.
That will push more authors to self-publishing (through Amazon), and boom, Amazon continues to win at the expense of both authors and readers who love great books.
Amazon might lose money in the short term—consider that early adopters are likely to skew towards heavy readers—but Amazon doesn't profit anyway, so that's clearly not an issue.
Like dumping best sellers below cost before it, Kindle Unlimited is a calculated effort to train customers that books have no value.
By perpetually pushing down the perceived value of books, Amazon puts eternal pressure on other retailers. The goal is to make book retailing so unprofitable that no one else will bother.
There are two competitors who can afford to not make a profit on books, and that's Apple and Google. Whether or not they're willing to do so remains to be seen, but a successful Kindle Unlimited will take us closer to them needing to make that decision.
This pricing pressure will also affect publishers, of course. As readers are reshaped to expect books for little or nothing, we'll see more consolidation, fewer small publishers, and a further pullback on acquisitions and development.
That will push more authors to self-publishing (through Amazon), and boom, Amazon continues to win at the expense of both authors and readers who love great books.