IANS | 07 Sep, 2023
Amazon is no longer selling print and Kindle, magazine and newspaper
subscriptions, leaving several independent publishers stranded.
First announced last year, the new Amazon policy came into effect this week.
“You
will no longer receive issues of your Kindle subscriptions after
September 4, 2023. We will issue you a pro-rated refund for any
undelivered issues within 3-5 business days,” the company informed in an
update.
The annual subscriptions will not renew at the end of their terms.
“Please contact the publisher directly to cancel your Print Newsstand subscription,” the company said.
A
recent editorial in the August issue of Fantasy Magazine read that it
is with “real sadness that we have to announce that October 2023 will be
our last issue”.
“People will want to know why, of course, and
the answer is the expected one: Unfortunately Fantasy never reached a
point of paying for itself, and with the Kindle Periodicals mess it’s
just not sustainable,” it added.
Last March, Amazon announced it will stop all of its print and Kindle magazine and newspaper subscriptions from next year.
“Since
that announcement, independent publishers have been scrambling to
figure out how to make up for the loss in income that would ensue when
many of their subscribers would suddenly disappear,” reports The Verge.
Some
publishers have been invited to become part of Amazon’s Kindle
Unlimited programme, where people pay a monthly fee for access to books
and “select” magazine subscriptions.