After punishing publishers for not accepting new contract terms, Amazon is now feuding with Time Warner. The digital superstore has stopped taking advanced orders for movies like The Lego Movie and 300: Rise of an Empire.
This is a brutal new tactic for the store that previously wanted to sell everything. Amazon clearly hopes to gain leverage over its suppliers, but it seems that suppliers aren’t giving in so easily.
Amazon is currently in a standoff with two publishers: the Hachette Book Group and Germany’s Bonnier Media Group. That means customers won’t be able to get a jump on ordering the latest J.K. Rowling novel — one of the hottest titles sold in June — and will see delayed shipments on other Hachette titles. In the case of Hachette, Amazon is quarreling over e-book terms.
Customers are growing upset with the increased unavailability of major new films and books. So far, both Amazon and Time Warner have been relatively quiet about the dispute. According to reporting from the New York Times, Time Warner says it doesn’t discuss contract negotiations and Amazon has yet to comment.
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