Amazon testing $10 per month Netflix-like service for eBooks
With the skyrocketing success of Netflix, many companies have been exploring low-cost monthly subscription models for many different services. Video is the obvious choice to copy for most people, but Amazon is looking to go a different direction — they want to do for eBooks what Netflix did for video.
The company was found to be testing a service called Kindle Unlimited that will cost $10 per month and give you unlimited access to over 600,000 eBooks and audiobooks. It wouldn’t be the first platform of its kind, but there’s no company with a backing as big as Amazon’s currently in the arena. Amazon’s clout and money give them a significant advantage to offer a service that provides a great deal more value than what’s currently out there.
This isn’t the first time Amazon would have tested such a model. They currently offer a much smaller incentive included with their Prime subscription program, allowing users to rent one free book per month alongside all the other benefits that come with Prime. Kindle Unlimited would be on a far larger scale.
That might come with a few drawbacks, though. For starters, the biggest, hottest and latest releases are probably out of the question — you want access to those right away, you’ll probably have to buy them. But that would be no different than having to wait for older shows and movies to reach Netflix and Amazon Prime Instant Video.
Basically, you’d get what you pay for — the potential to read books at pennies on the dollar instead of the $5 or $10 they might otherwise cost if bought individually. We obviously wouldn’t recommend this to folks who don’t read a lot, but if you’re one to thumb through a stack of books each month it could be worth your while. Let’s hope we hear something official soon.
[via GigaOM]