Washington (AFP) – Publisher Hachette and online retailing giant Amazon said Thursday they had reached a deal to end their acrimonious feud over online book sales.
After six months in which Amazon clamped down on sales of books by the publisher on its website, the two announced a multi-year agreement on ebook and print book sales in the U.S. market.
The deal gives Hachette Book Group, a subsidiary of France’s Lagardere group, the responsibility for setting retail prices for ebooks beginning in early 2015, according to an announcement from both companies.
No specific terms for the deal were released, but the statement said Hachette would have incentives to keep its prices low.
“This is great news for writers,” said Michael Pietsch, chief executive of Hachette Book Group.
“It gives Hachette enormous marketing capability with one of our most important bookselling partners.”
David Naggar, vice president for Kindle, the ebook unit of Amazon, said the incentives for Hachette to hold prices down “will be a great win for readers and authors alike.
AFP Photo/Emmanuel Dunand
