Tamblyn: MFN cessation to liberate ‘e’ market

The European Commission ruling that led to Amazon pledging to abolish its Most Favoured Nation clauses in contracts with publishers will give it freedom to run more “innovative” promotions with rival companies, Kobo’s c.e.o. Michael Tamblyn has told The Bookseller.

Publishers that have been averse to running digital deals, fearing the “competitive response” or being “punished for doing something with one retailer that they don’t do with another” will have more freedom as a result of being “out of contract”, he said.

Tamblyn added: “[Kobo is] able to differentiate itself by doing more interesting things around promotions with publishers. The more latitude [publishers] have there, the more latitude they have to think creatively about how to create promotions that customers find exciting.”

He also called self-publishing “the ‘dark matter’ of the publishing universe”, referring to the indie-authored market that now accounts for 20% of Kobo’s sales.

“It’s a growing part of the business but is undetectable by most measuring instruments... It’s like having another Penguin Random House that no one can see.”