14 DAY TRIAL // Steve Jobs sent an email to News Corp’s James Murdoch in 2010 proposing a pricing scheme to undermine Amazon’s authority in the e-book business, according to the Department of Justice, which is running an investigation on the iBookstore.
“Throw in with Apple and see if we can all make a go of this to create a real mainstream e-books market at $12.99 and $14.99,” reads one excerpt.
Taken out of context, the message indicates Jobs tried to conspire with Murdoch to kill Amazon’s book business. Take the entire email into account and Jobs’ message to Murdoch seems to be less alluring.
“Heck, Amazon is selling these books at $9.99, and who knows maybe they are right and we will fail even at $12.99. But we’re willing to try at the prices we proposed.”
“We are not willing to try at higher prices, because we are pretty sure we’ll all fail,” reads another excerpt, according to All Things D.
The DOJ sees this as clear evidence of wrongdoing, but Apple denies these claims, saying the e-book industry has benefited a lot from the iBookstore.
Apple spokesman Tom Neumayr said on Tuesday, “We helped transform the eBook market with the introduction of the iBookstore in 2010 bringing consumers an expanded selection of eBooks and delivering innovative new features.”
Steve Jobs had also mentioned piracy in his email, and how Apple’s model could sidestep it.
“This will be the start of piracy and once started there will be no stopping it. Trust me,” Jobs stressed. “I’ve seen this happen with my own eyes,” he added, likely referring to the music industry which he had revolutionized with the iPod and iTunes.
In his email to News Corp’s boss, Jobs insisted that “the e-book market can be successful with pricing higher than $12.99 or $14.99.”