Amazon removing download facility for Kindle books on 26 February

[icowden]

No, it's less - recently moved mine to UL - but turnover seems higher.

I thought it might be - presumably its the trade off between fewer people paying more to buy and more people being likely to download the book and give it a go for free. I also wonder if the amount is linked to the amount of the book that is read, or the duration it's downloaded for, or is it just a basic per download irrespective of whether the person reads any of it...

Update: Found a page about it. It's complicated. The kindle unlimited fees form a "fund" per country per month and the authors get a share of the fund based on the number of normalised pages read of their books.

For example, here's how we'd calculate royalty payouts if $10 million in funds are available in a given month with 100 million total pages read. (Note: Actual payouts may vary. Check your Prior Month's Royalty Report to see your earnings):

• Author with a 100-page Kindle eBook that was borrowed and read completely 100 times would earn $1,000 ($10 million x 10,000 pages for this author / 100,000,000 total pages).
• Author of a 200-page Kindle eBook that was borrowed and read completely 100 times would earn $2,000 ($10 million x 20,000 pages for this author / 100,000,000 total pages).
• Author of a 200-page Kindle eBook that was borrowed 100 times but only read halfway through on average would earn $1,000 ($10 million x 10,000 pages for this author / 100,000,000 total pages).

We support our authors' efforts to promote their Kindle eBooks, but we also work to prevent any manipulation of the Kindle experience.

We do not permit authors to offer, or participate in marketing that incentivizes Kindle Unlimited (KU) customers to read their Kindle eBooks in exchange for compensation of any kind. This includes payment (whether in the form of money or gift certificates), bonus content, entry to a contest or sweepstakes, discounts on future purchases, extra product, or other gifts.

 

[icowden]

If you want to led your book to a family member of the same household, then fair enough. But what if the family member is of a different household, or an extended family member, or a friend, a stranger and so on.

Exactly. Amazon do let you have a family but it's limited to 4 child accounts and one other adult. So I can lend a book to my wife, but she can't lend it to her mum. This seems a little draconian to me.

 

[Dadam]

I love paper books and have loads but I love my Kindle too. On holiday I can get through a book a day and like having plenty of options of what to read, and I don't have to pack a dozen books in the suitcase. I also love being able to read in bed without disturbing the wife with a light on. I've had a kindle since 2010 and have 104 books on the platform.

The fact that I had the ability to shift this content to another platform, even if I never used it, meant I was happy to stay on Kindle. So I watched the video in the OP and then a bunch of others, including reviews of other e-readers. I've now decided to go to Kobo and have downloaded all my kindle books in advance of the cutoff date. This is going to backfire on Amazon. People will be less likely to buy on Kindle in the first place.

 

[Regular.Cyclist]

I still have the first Kindle made available to the UK. It had to be ordered from amazon . com and was shipped to the UK. Originally I had to buy the books in dollars but they changed that soon after and I could buy from the UK store.

Important differences it that this model identifies itself as a mass storage device to any computer and books can therefore be copied to it and from it. It will be interesting to see if amazon can change anything that will stop me doing that.

It’s important to remember that, whilst paper books attract no VAT at the point of sale, digital books do.

 

[KneesUp]

I got given a Kindle for Xmas. I’ve not bought many books so far but I’ve tried to avoid ones with DRM I can’t break. I don’t want to rent a book. I want to own a book. Kobo seems better for this - buy the ebook, break the DRM, stick it on the Kindle via USB. You lose sync across devices that way, but I don’t read on my iPad now really so it’s not an issue. I’m internally debating the morals of acquiring a ‘free’ ebook version of a book Ive already bought in physical form from one of the many sources of such things that are undoubtedly on the internet somewhere. Does anyone have thoughts on the morals of this (dont suggest sites on the forum though).

I like the idea of having fewer ‘things’ and, relevant to the forum, one of the attractions of the kindle was being able to take a few books with me for a weekend on the bike on a device optimised for reading and with a decent battery life, but I really don’t like the idea of my books being available or not on the whim of somebody else. Especially now we’ve seen how unhinged the ultra wealthy can become.

 

[Alex321]

I started thinking of DRM on movies.

If you want to led your book to a family member of the same household, then fair enough. But what if the family member is of a different household, or an extended family member, or a friend, a stranger and so on.

Then it got.me thinking about movies. Download a movie and watch with your family. Or extended family, friends etc.

I would like go with he old ways: book book or movie, and it's mine to do what I want with it. Unless, I'm an author or movie producer then I might not like it so much. Maybe in front of everyone I will say "yeah go ahead, sharing is caring" but behind the scenes, cunning plan will develop to limit the downloads,usage of books and movies.

Idk what the right answer is, but since I'm not an author, then I prefer the "I bought the book, it's MY damn book to do what I want."

That works when you have a physical copy of the book. It would cost more to photocopy the whole thing than to buy another copy, so by passing it on/lending it or whatever, there is still only the one physical book in circulation, which has been paid for once.

But with digital media (if you unlawfully remove the DRM), you can copy it as many times as you want, and there are many copies in circulation for the single payment. You are, of course, breaking copyright laws by doing so, but most people seem to think that is OK for some reason.

 

[classic33]

That works when you have a physical copy of the book. It would cost more to photocopy the whole thing than to buy another copy, so by passing it on/lending it or whatever, there is still only the one physical book in circulation, which has been paid for once.

But with digital media (if you unlawfully remove the DRM), you can copy it as many times as you want, and there are many copies in circulation for the single payment. You are, of course, breaking copyright laws by doing so, but most people seem to think that is OK for some reason.

Or you just scan/photograph each and every page, and transfer the files to a device for reading.
Saves you having to find your own copy of a book that can't be borrowed.

 

[wiggydiggy]

I got given a Kindle for Xmas. I’ve not bought many books so far but I’ve tried to avoid ones with DRM I can’t break. I don’t want to rent a book. I want to own a book. Kobo seems better for this - buy the ebook, break the DRM, stick it on the Kindle via USB. You lose sync across devices that way, but I don’t read on my iPad now really so it’s not an issue. I’m internally debating the morals of acquiring a ‘free’ ebook version of a book Ive already bought in physical form from one of the many sources of such things that are undoubtedly on the internet somewhere. Does anyone have thoughts on the morals of this (dont suggest sites on the forum though).

I like the idea of having fewer ‘things’ and, relevant to the forum, one of the attractions of the kindle was being able to take a few books with me for a weekend on the bike on a device optimised for reading and with a decent battery life, but I really don’t like the idea of my books being available or not on the whim of somebody else. Especially now we’ve seen how unhinged the ultra wealthy can become.

I don't think I could justify downloading an illegal copy of a book that I already own but there are already free legal alternatives such as Libby where I can use my Library access to get eBooks, written and spoken.

There are options book publishers could be using to discourage book piraracy. Lowering the digital cost for a start is one, my most recent new book was £7.49 for the paperback, they currently want £7.64 for the digital kindle edition which is an absurd pricing strategy and not one I'll never support.

Generally speaking though I buy very few books new, most of what I read is second hand or from the Library. I'm guessing book publishers already don't like me, though the local charity and second hand book shop owners do!

 

[Gwylan]

Oh my. Amazon, I hate. They screwed me, well my wife, for the 7.99 a month. Took about 3 months, I saw 7.99 on the bank statements assumed she'd bought something. Month 3 I'm suspicious.
Ask.
Reply: what 7.99?
Nasty people.

Kindle, Urgh. Paper every time. I've read 2 books in the last 5 years.
Everything I want to know, and some I shouldn't, can be found in the www.

 

[Alex321]

Oh my. Amazon, I hate. They screwed me, well my wife, for the 7.99 a month. Took about 3 months, I saw 7.99 on the bank statements assumed she'd bought something. Month 3 I'm suspicious.
Ask.
Reply: what 7.99?
Nasty people.

Kindle, Urgh. Paper every time. I've read 2 books in the last 5 years.
Everything I want to know, and some I shouldn't, can be found in the www.

Sorry, but that one is on you (or your wife). They make it very clear when you sign up that it is only free for the first month, and will renew automatically at £7.99 per month after that if you don't cancel. It is up to you to cancel before that first payment is due.

I've taken advantage of that offer a few times now, and only once forgot to cancel (and only then the first month).

Not sure how long you have to wait before you get the offer again, I don't order from Amazon often enough to notice.

 

[icowden]

There are options book publishers could be using to discourage book piraracy. Lowering the digital cost for a start is one, my most recent new book was £7.49 for the paperback, they currently want £7.64 for the digital kindle edition which is an absurd pricing strategy and not one I'll never support.

Agreed. I think the absurd cost and the over-tight limitation on lending books is the main driver for piracy.

A family group should be 8 adult accounts in my opinion with unlimited child accounts (child accounts are not full amazon accounts, just divisions in the main account). For most families that would be a reasonable amount. It covers a couple, their parents and their children once they have graduated to adult accounts. Even 4 adults would be an improvement. Two is just moneygrabbing.

I looked at reading the latest Richard Osman book:

• Hardback: £11
• Paperback: £9.19
• Audiobook: £7.99
• Kindle: £11.99

Yes, it's most expensive to buy the version that cost the least money and which you don't in fact own. Daylight robbery!

 

[SpokeyDokey]

Been a Kindle user for many years and imo it is a brilliant piece of kit, the library is fantastic (we use Unlimited too) and neither of us here have ever used the download by USB facility, and never will.

A storm in a teacup for us, tbh.

 

[Dadam]

I’m internally debating the morals of acquiring a ‘free’ ebook version of a book Ive already bought in physical form from one of the many sources of such things that are undoubtedly on the internet somewhere. Does anyone have thoughts on the morals of this (dont suggest sites on the forum though).

I have no problem with it morally or ethically.

I just wish to read the books I paid good money for on a different device, not distribute a load of copies of it. It's a little bit like what the music industry tried to do with CDs to stop people ripping MP3s. Some of them were doctored so they'd play in a normal CD player but would not read in a PC drive. It used the error correction mechanism so an audio player could play a technically broken CD.

The concern for me is the kind of sites you would obtain them from can be dodgy and you need to be on your guard for malware.
For now I've used the legal mechanism, that Amazon are about to remove, to download for USB transfer.

I've ordered a Kobo e-reader and I'm shifting to that platform. I'd been considering upgrading my elderly Kindle paperwhite for years, as its battery isn't the greatest now and it does have a number of software glitches like sometimes the backlight doesn't switch off when it goes to sleep or on when it wakes. I'm still unfortunately addicted to Amazon for the sheer bloody convenience of the purchasing ecosystem for just about everything else, but I'm trying lol!

 

[Dadam]

A storm in a teacup for us, tbh.

For you yes. If you have no intention of ever leaving the Kindle platform then it's fine. If however at any point you wanted to use a different e-reader and put the books you've paid for on it, Mr Bezos has now said you can't. So there.

 

[Alex321]

Agreed. I think the absurd cost and the over-tight limitation on lending books is the main driver for piracy.

A family group should be 8 adult accounts in my opinion with unlimited child accounts (child accounts are not full amazon accounts, just divisions in the main account). For most families that would be a reasonable amount. It covers a couple, their parents and their children once they have graduated to adult accounts. Even 4 adults would be an improvement. Two is just moneygrabbing.

I looked at reading the latest Richard Osman book:

• Hardback: £11
• Paperback: £9.19
• Audiobook: £7.99
• Kindle: £11.99

Yes, it's most expensive to buy the version that cost the least money and which you don't in fact own. Daylight robbery!

That really is daft.

The e-book should always be the cheapest version, at te worst being equal in price to the cheapest other version.