Amazon is taking its electronic publishing ambitions to another level in order to better serve millions of ebook readers.
On Tuesday, Amazon introduced Kindle MatchBook, a new benefit that gives customers the option to buy — for $2.99, $1.99, $0.99, or free — the Kindle edition of print books they have purchased new from Amazon.
Print purchases all the way back to 1995 — when Amazon first opened its online bookstore — will qualify once a publisher enrolls a title in Kindle MatchBook.
Over 10,000 books will already be available when Kindle MatchBook launches in October, including best sellers like I Know This Much Is True by Wally Lamb, The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein, The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough, A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving and The Hangman’s Daughter by Oliver Pötzsch, with many more titles to be added over time.
“If you logged onto your CompuServe account during the Clinton administration and bought a book like Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus from Amazon, Kindle MatchBook now makes it possible for that purchase—18 years later—to be added to your Kindle library at a very low cost,” says Russ Grandinetti, Vice President of Kindle Content. “In addition to being a great new benefit for customers, this is an easy choice for publishers and authors who will now be able to earn more from each book they publish.”
Amazon says that bundling print and digital has been one of the most requested features from customers. To learn more about the new program, click here.
