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Macmillan US and Amazon.com have resolved their week-long dispute over e-book terms with buy-buttons reinstated on Macmillan's print and Kindle books late on Friday.
Despite the public nature of the dispute, details of the resolution have been kept quiet. “I am delighted to be back in business with Amazon,” John Sargent, chief executive of Macmillan, said in an e-mail message to the New York Times.
Macmillan's new agency terms had offered Amazon a 30% cut on sales, with the publisher allowed to set the price, with the cost of bestsellers likely to rise from $9.99 to $14.99 on the Kindle. The agreement comes into force in March.
Publishers across the world have been closely monitoring the discussions, with Macmillan receiving a standing ovation at a recent meeting of American booksellers. Other publishers such as Hachette and HarperCollins have signaled their intent to also adopt the agency model, as they seek to raise the price of e-books.
The NYT wonders what else Amazon held out for? "It is likely that Amazon demanded that no other e-book vendors, like Apple, get preferential access to new titles, or any kind of pricing advantages. Amazon may also have negotiated terms into its agreement with the publisher that would allow users of Kindles or Kindle software to lend e-books to each other."