I wrote recently about how the tendency of technology businesses to monopoly was ultimately bad for competition and hence society.

Amazon now seems to be casting itself squarely as the anti-competitive bad guy when it comes to the book trade. As Michael Pietsch points out in his letter, publishing is not only about distribution; authors and all other suppliers, as well as publishers deserve a fair deal. Amazon clearly feels it can run roughshod over the publishing industry and indeed, if you look at what Apple did to the music industry, why not?

Well, why not is the damage done to the music industry. Things worked out very nicely for Apple in music, not so much for anyone else. Hachette are right to fight their corner and other publishing players should rally behind them to get deals agreed that are fair for all parts of the publishing industry.