Amazon and independent publisher resolve dispute, 5,000 titles return to Kindle Store

In February Amazon pulled nearly 5,000 titles from the Kindle Store over a troubled contract negotiation with Independent Publishers Group. Industry publication Publishers Lunch reports that both parties have reached an agreement, however, and the titles are already on their way back to Amazon's ebook outlet. The dispute started when it came time for IPG to renegotiate its contracts with Amazon. Company president Mark Suchomel said at the time that Amazon had proposed new terms that would have "substantially changed" the revenue for authors on both electronic and physical book sales; according to the Wall Street Journal, the terms IPG were offered were reportedly not comparable with its competitors, while Suchomel was proposing terms more in line with other publishers in the marketplace. As a result, Amazon pulled IPG's books from the Kindle Store, though it continued to sell the publisher's physical books.

Unsurprisingly, neither side has revealed any details about the nature of their new agreement. It's simply the latest development in a long list of difficult negotiations and discussions that book publishers have had with Amazon in recent years, with everyone from publishers to the president of the Authors Guild expressing concern over Amazon's dominant position in the ebook market. The DOJ, of course, famously filed suit against five different publishers along with Apple for allegedly colluding to break Amazon's stranglehold on the market. While three of those publishers have settled with the DOJ, Macmillan, Penguin, and Apple have all chosen to defend themselves in the courtroom. As for IPG's titles, the majority have already returned to the Kindle Store; the few remaining books will appear in the coming days.