John Sargent Critiques Wylie Amazon Deal

John Sargent, CEO of Macmillan has responded negatively to news of the Wylie Agency’s exclusive partnership with Amazon. He stated in a blog post:

“I am appalled, however, that Andrew has chosen to give his list exclusively to a single retailer. A basic tenet of publishing is that our function is to reach as many readers as we can. We disseminate our books and the ideas within them as broadly as possible.

I understand why Amazon wants an exclusive deal with Andrew. They have asked us too for exclusive product, as has every major retailer we deal with. This is smart retailing, and a great deal for Amazon. But it is an extraordinarily bad deal for writers, illustrators, publishers, other booksellers, and for anyone who believes that books should be as widely available as possible. This deal advantages Amazon, which already has the dominant share in this market.”

Random House also didn’t appreciate the news and said earlier that they are taking steps to legally dispute the news.

Via Sarah Weinman.

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