Amazon Introduces 70% Revenue Share For Kindle Magazine And Newspaper Publishers

Amazon is announcing new revenue share terms for Kindle magazine and newspaper publishers. According to a release, for each magazine or newspaper sold, publishers will be able to earn 70 percent of retail sales on the Kindle (net of delivery costs, notes Amazon). This is a significant change from previous terms, in which Amazon apparently took as much as 70% of subscription revenue from magazine and newspaper publishers.

Newspaper and magazine publishers must meet a number of qualifications to be eligible for the 70-30 revenue share, including the ability to read the publications on all Kindle devices and applications (The Kindle, Android, iPhone, iPad etc.) Consumers must also be able to read the content in all geographies for which the publisher has rights. Amazon says that these new 70-percent royalty terms will become available on December 1, 2010.

Peter Larsen, Director of Kindle Periodicals, says in a statement: “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.”

Amazon also announced the Beta release of the Kindle Publishing for Periodicals tool, which allows publishers to quickly and easily add their newspaper or magazine to the Kindle Store. It’s similar to Kindle Digital Text tool for books. Publishers can create their account, add content and preview Kindle formatting prior to making their titles available.

Many had complained about Amazon’s policies as being unfavorable towards the newspaper and magazine businesses, which as we all know, need all the help they can get in terms of revenue. And having a competitive revenue offering will no doubt encourage more publishers to format content for Amazon, as competitors like the Nook and the iPad join the Kindle in the e-book wars.