SAN FRANCISCO - Amazon.com Inc., aiming to cement its dominance in electronic books, will offer a 70 percent commission to authors and publishers that put their titles on the Kindle.
The e-books must sell for no more than $9.99 and the price must be at least 20 percent cheaper than the lowest available price for the physical version of the book, the Seattle-based company said yesterday. The new arrangement will start at the end of June.
Publishers have typically offered rates of about 25 percent for digital books, according to Amazon.com vice president Russ Grandinetti. The 70-30 revenue split mirrors the arrangement Apple Inc. has with programmers who make applications for its iPhone and iPod Touch devices.
Apple plans to introduce a tablet computer this month, a person familiar with the matter said. It will include an e-reader that competes with the Kindle, according to Sanford C. Bernstein & Co.
