Authors and publishers will be offered a royalty rate of 70 percent of the digital list price after “delivery costs,†typically about 6 cents per digital unit. This rate is similar to that currently offered by Apple in its app store.
From the NY Times.
It should be noted that Apple offers 70% of sticker price, not 70% after we deduct some random amount. (And the typical app is probably bigger than the typical eBook.) Still, it’s a big step in the right direction, and Amazon has to cover the Kindle’s 3G connection costs — incidentally, if Amazon can transmit an eBook for $0.06, how can phone companies charge $0.10 for an SMS and not be hauled over the coals for anti-competitive behavior?
NY Times floats new[ish] idea for monetizing content
Oh, and while we’re at it, the NY Times is floating the idea of charging for access to its website beyond a certain number of articles. Of course, no word on the number of articles or the pricing. Subscribers (including Sunday only) get full access. I just checked and Sunday only is $3.75/week here, which seems a bit steep (and then I’d have to dispose of the stupid dead tree parts).