[LINK] Book monopolies

[Kim Holburn]

I was just listening to Philip Adams on the ABC in the car, as you do, and he was talking to some Australian publishers about ebooks.  One of them was saying that the big ebook publishers: Amazon, Google, Apple have virtually frozen out Australian publishers.  Also I read recently that only a very few Australian publishers were allowed into Apple's iBookstore.  He also pointed out that the large "foreign" booksellers didn't have to pay GST so real dead-tree book sellers in Australia were at a double disadvantage.

This is of course interesting to me as a small, (very, very small) publisher.

In these days were publishing is so easy that many small publishers can easily publish books it seems bad that the market is so effectively tied up, monopolised by large overseas (US) booksellers.  Amazon for instance, AFAIK only allows publishers to sell books on Amazon if they have  a US bank account.  Amazon UK ditto.  Amazon skims off US tax on any money foreigners might earn, and makes the seller responsible for understanding and paying all the complicated US state taxes. 

Kim

-- 
Kim Holburn
The Pinchgut Press
http://www.pinchgut-press.com.au
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