Another win for Amazon

Last week the semi-stealth launch of Ruby and now the news is out on the subscription service that just launched today. 50,000 publications combined with one-click ordering is a dangerous one-two punch…

Is Amazon.com Destined to Become the Big Subscription Clearinghouse?: Amazon.com has just launched an online magazine/newspaper/newsletter clearinghouse–the effort is geared towards print publications, with about 50,000 publications on offer. The store may, in the future, become a big online newsletter/electronic edition clearinghouse as well, even though the company has not indicated anything to the effect. Especially when you consider the fact that Amazon.com’s payment system is one-click, at least in theory–the ease of subscription eliminates user churn or initial trial, the hurdles which have stunted the growth of micropayments industry for a long time now (Amazon.com’s payment scheme is also a micropayment, technically speaking, but then you get the picture…).

Other companies/services such as Audible.com are also primed to become such digital/audio clearinghouses, even though Audible is perpetually plagued with a low profile, stock price troubles and liquidity pressures. Interestingly, Amazon.com owns a stake (or at least invested some money) in Audible. Source: Paid Content

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