Amazon paying Flat Fees for this lending program sounds bad. Netflix, a similar concept, pays very little royalties to movies in their catalogue. It only seems to work out for independent movies, or movies that nobody watches anymore.

The fact that Amazon picked books that they didn’t have permission to lend is simply terrifying. Sure, they’re paying for it, yet that doesn’t make it fair. It might get a publisher in a tight spot. Not only it reduces the value of a book, it might create issues with other partners, like say Barnes and Noble. “Why did you let amazon give it out for free when I cannot?”

Just because it seems fair to them it doesn’t mean they have the right to do it. That’s what the law is for. If everyone could do whatever they feel is right, then the world would be chaos.

And anyway, it is not fair. They broke a rule to get an advantage over every other company which sells books (online or retail). Them being the “world’s biggest book store”, makes everything look even more unfair.

Their goal is simple, they want to become a monopoly. If they screw all authors, publishers, distributors and retailers in the process, who cares?