CEO DATELINE - Publishing, bookseller groups worried about Amazon's growing dominance
CEO DATELINE - Publishing, bookseller groups worried about Amazon's growing dominance
- August 20, 2020 |
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Walt Williams
Associations representing publishers, authors and independent booksellers are asking Congress to investigate Amazon's expanding power over the publishing and bookselling industries, the news site Publishers' Weekly recently reported
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In a letter to the chairman of the House Antitrust Subcommittee , the Association of American Publishers, American Booksellers Association and The Authors Guild ask lawmakers to take several actions to limit the online retailer's dominance , including prohibiting Amazon from selling popular books at a loss to lure consumers away from other booksellers.
The three associations noted that Amazon reportedly controls 50% of all book distribution, "but for some industry suppliers, the actual figure may be much higher, with Amazon accounting for more than 70 or 80% of sales," the letter states.
"Whether it is the negative impact on booksellers of Amazon forcing publishers to predominantly use its platform, the hostile environment for booksellers on Amazon who see no choice but to sell there, or Amazon's predatory pricing, the point is that Amazon's concomitant market dominance allows it to engage in systematic below-cost pricing of books to squash competition in the book selling industry as a whole," the groups said.
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos—along with the heads of Apple, Google and Facebook—appeared before the House Judiciary Committee in July to address charges they were engaging in anti-competitive practices. Bezos said in prepared remarks that his company's success was anything but pre-ordained —it accumulated billions of dollars in losses during its early years of operations, and some analysts predicted it wouldn't survive. He also noted that Amazon competes with other retail giants, such as Walmart and Target.
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