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Published on: 11/26/2007
Last Visited: 11/26/2007
One of the questions I had for Steve Kessel, SVP of digital at Amazon, was whether the publishers are at all fearful if iTunes redux, i.e. Amazon making money hand-over-first on Kindle sales, while the publishers fight for scraps on low-margin book sales.Kessel doesn't see this playing out: "Publishers are really excited to be working with us… We have a history of working with the publishing industry," adding that Amazon has always been able to grow the book business.As a followup I asked whether there was any talk among publishers of getting a cut of each Kindle sold, again, as many music executives now wish they had with the iPod.Didn't get a direct answer on this one, though he reiterated that the business model is "just like in the physical world".As for the company's goals for the Kindle, in terms of sales or revenue, Kessel, not surprisingly, was unwilling to comment.A few other tid-bits from Kessel: when you buy a book, it's locked onto the Kindleâ€"no printing out or sharing it.