Like the loyalty programs that airlines offer, it seems that Amazon is slowly moving towards a similar loyalty program. Amazon’s Prime members will have the benefit of subscribing to a new program that loans eligible customers a free e-book every month. The program, the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library, is open to Kindle users who are also members of Amazon Prime, the $79-a-year fast shipping and video-streaming service. Customers can keep a selection for as long as they want but it will disappear if they choose another book the next month. This I suppose is a very basic and monitored format of the public library system—now digital.
On offer will be over a 100 current and former New York Times bestsellers, although the author states doing a background check and 20 of the top were not on the lending library. This new system is also causing an issue with publishers who obviously won’t make any royalties from the “free lending” system. Amazon was also rumored to be starting an “all-you-can-eat program” that would allow Prime subscribers an unlimited number of e-books for a set fee, but that seems delayed with the issues related to the publishers.
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/03/for-amazon-prime-readers-a-lending-library/?src=me&ref=technology
1 comment:
This is fascinating because Amazon tied the Lending Library to the Prime Account (which really has nothing to do with you kindle relationship), as opposed to creating a distinct fee structure. It gives a nod to Amazon trying to create a Digital Membership where you think of Amazon as a content provider, not just a unilateral relationship through your kindle OR your Prime subscription. I love the idea of Digital Membership (all backed of course by the Amazon Cloud), because it opens up incredible possibilities for partnerships, cross-promotions and added value (imagine if you could lend high tech software or marketing collateral that "expires" when the partnership ends). As a biased Kindle/Prime subscriber, I'm excited to see what's next. Thanks for the post, Shivani!
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