As of 1 December, publishers worldwide will see their revenue share increase to 70 per cent, provided they meet certain requirements, Amazon announced yesterday.
Advertising Age reported in December that Amazon was itself taking up to 70 per cent of periodical subscription revenues for each magazine or newspaper sold through the Kindle store and other reports suggest publishers previously received around 30 per cent (Amazon was approached but says that it can not confirm the figure at this stage).
Amazon also announced the beta release of a new Kindle Publishing for Periodicals tool, which will allow publishers to create an account, add content, and preview Kindle formatting before making the titles available.
Publications launched through this tool are currently only available in the US but will be launched globally "in the near future".
"We are constantly working at improving the Kindle magazine and newspaper experience for both customers and publishers," Peter Larsen, director of Kindle Periodicals sad in the release.
"Building on the recent introduction of Wi-Fi-enabled Kindles and the upcoming availability of newspapers and magazines on Kindle Apps, we're pleased to add an increased revenue share and a great new tool for making Kindle better and easier than ever for publishers."
The new terms do not apply to blog publishers, the press release adds, because existing terms “are generally more advantageous for them”. They will continue to receive 30 per cent of the gross revenue.
Amazon has also indicated that Kindle newspapers and magazines will be available on Kindle reading apps for the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch in the coming weeks.
Update:
Amazon has responded to say it does not disclose rates because of confidentiality with its publishers, but that it would be "a double-digit margin increase" for most publishers.
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