Random House May Hit Apple--iBookstore To Follow?

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Word out of the folks at Random House suggests we might be seeing their stuff on Apple pretty soon, perhaps in the form of an iBookstore, after recent word out of the major publisher says that they’re planning to join the “big six” in getting an agency model together for ebooks.

What a difference a year makes…just last April, we were telling you all about how Random House wasn’t so sure about this whole ebook thing, and that left them as the last holdout among the so-called “big six” publishers (including HarperCollins, Penguin Group, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillian) in getting together a model for ebooks, especially when dealing with Apple. But now, they’ve changed their mind…and just in time for the big announcement about the upcoming iPad 2.

Basically, the problem came down to money, in terms of the differences between a wholesaler model and an agency model. A wholesaler model puts the publisher in a supplier role, with the retailer setting the prices on the ebook. An agency model, meanwhile, lets the publisher call the tune on pricing whilst the retailer gets a commission per sale.

Interestingly, this was what was the sticking point for Random House–they didn’t want to be the ones setting prices. And this in turn left Random House as the sole holdout until they come on an agency model they could be satisfied with. Random House’s Stuart Applebaum, meanwhile, had this to say about the recent movement:

“For us, the move is an investment in the long-term growth of digital sales, for our retailers and for us.”

Though when Applebaum was asked about the whole Apple Bookstore concept, he remained mum.

It’ll be interesting to see if Apple’s upcoming announcement stream has anything to do with the idea of an Apple bookstore, now with Random House, so we’ll have to keep an eye out on this one. I maintain, personally, he’s right about the “long-term growth of digital sales” concept–new media is the future, folks. Welcome to the ride.