Author Topic: D2D dropping Google Play and Playster  (Read 2559 times)

David VanDyke

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D2D dropping Google Play and Playster
« on: October 25, 2019, 04:45:28 AM »
Just got this in a mass email from D2D:

***

Draft2Digital will no longer offer Google Play or Playster distribution.
 
Part of our job, at Draft2Digital, is to ensure that any distribution partnerships we offer are structured and maintained to a set of standards. We do this so that authors can continue to receive the same level of high quality that we’ve always offered, and can continue to trust that we are protecting their interests. Occasionally, this means vetting distribution channels to decide whether they should be included or excluded from our service.

As such, we have determined that distribution to Google Play and Playster are not in the best interest of our authors, and we will be removing distribution to these channels.

GOOGLE PLAY

Google Play’s current terms of service create a relationship with distributors like D2D that is neither manageable nor scalable, forcing authors and aggregators both to take extreme measures to be listed. Pricing changes, requirements for account management, and other restrictions imposed on our authors make Google Play an unattractive option.

Effective October 30th, Draft2Digital will no longer offer Google Play distribution, we will be closing our Google Play Distribution Beta program, and all titles will be taken down at that time.

PLAYSTER

We have been closely monitoring distribution via Playster for several months and have determined that the platform lacks the level of stability we require for our distribution partners. As a result, we will be removing Playster as a distribution channel for new books and ensuring that all books currently listed are removed as soon as Playster is officially closed. This is in the best interest of our publishing partners.

NOTE: Authors who are currently listed with these channels through Draft2Digital will be able to leave their books in each channel for the time being, but once the program is fully closed these books will no longer be available.

We always regret having to remove options for our authors but doing so in this instance allows us to continue to provide you with the best possible opportunities for getting your books in front of the right readers. We appreciate your patience and understanding as we work to keep Draft2Digital’s distribution at its current level of high quality.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to email us at support (at) draft2digital dot com.

Happy publishing,

The Draft2Digital Team
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David VanDyke

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Re: D2D dropping Google Play and Playster
« Reply #1 on: October 25, 2019, 04:52:18 AM »
A little Google-fu turned this up as well, which explains some of it:

https://rogerpacker.com/google-play-disses-disties-and-tells-indie-authors-theyve-got-to-go-direct/
Never listen to people with no skin in the game.

I'm a lucky guy. I find the harder I work, the luckier I am.

Those who prefer their English sloppy have only themselves to thank if the advertisement writer uses his mastery of the vocabulary and syntax to mislead their weak minds.

~ Dorothy L. Sayers
 
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She-la-te-da

Re: D2D dropping Google Play and Playster
« Reply #2 on: October 25, 2019, 05:26:19 AM »
Well, crap. I was hoping they could work out their issues with Google (I know nothing about Playster). Oh, well. Direct it is.
I write various flavors of speculative fiction. This is my main pen name.

 

Kate Elizabeth

Re: D2D dropping Google Play and Playster
« Reply #3 on: October 25, 2019, 05:35:50 AM »
I'm direct for Google Play, but I think that I sold a few copies on Playster.
 

RPatton

Re: D2D dropping Google Play and Playster
« Reply #4 on: October 25, 2019, 08:22:20 AM »
Just did some research on Playster, they are on their last leg and stopped acquiring new content a while ago. Also, we knew this was coming from Google play. I am fairly sure, not 100%, but mostly convinced that the direct account with google has to do with covering their ass and making sure they comply with laws in all the countries they operate. They can't do that if a distribution point is acting as the publisher.

I have never had a problem with D2D, but with the way they've spun this email, it left a bitter taste behind. I can see spinning it so D2D looks good, but they are bordering on delusional claims. They attempted to get their authors to write in and complain and change Google's mind, and that just wasn't going to happen. And if they genuinely cared about the stability of a company, they would have dropped Playster back in January.

 

fleurina

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Re: D2D dropping Google Play and Playster
« Reply #5 on: October 25, 2019, 08:39:23 AM »
 I am out of Select soon and will republish wide (mainly via D2D) -- it's useful to (finally) know about Google Play.

I'm towards the end of my third Select term in just under two years -- have now accepted it's not right for me -- not enough page reads to warrant the restrictions. 
 

JRTomlin

Re: D2D dropping Google Play and Playster
« Reply #6 on: October 25, 2019, 08:47:53 AM »
One of these days I will get enough sales from GP for a visit to Macdonalds. And it has the least user-friendly interface it is possible to make. They must have really worked at that.

On the other hand, doing that makes me wonder if GP is finally going to actually put some work into their book sales since they are even noticing that they have them. Maybe? Probably not.
 

fleurina

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Re: D2D dropping Google Play and Playster
« Reply #7 on: October 25, 2019, 04:05:39 PM »
Quote
One of these days I will get enough sales from GP for a visit to Macdonalds.

I'll meet you there -- and blow all the money I earned from last month's Select reads. What a party!

 :banana:
 

notthatamanda

Re: D2D dropping Google Play and Playster
« Reply #8 on: October 29, 2019, 11:10:52 PM »
I hope it's okay to put this here.  I am raising the prices after my promo, so I went in to check the google play prices before I raise them on Amazon.  It looks like GP is price matching to amazon, but only in some of the countries, not all of them.  To avoid the infinite price matching loop between the two companies bots, I took them off those countries in google play, will put them back on after the pricing at Amazon goes up.   

It's nice to be able to do that, but I assume I will have to contact Amazon about a price match on something to get the book back up to full price, er, fully.


« Last Edit: October 29, 2019, 11:14:22 PM by notthatamanda »
 

Edward M. Grant

Re: D2D dropping Google Play and Playster
« Reply #9 on: November 05, 2019, 04:16:02 AM »
One of these days I will get enough sales from GP for a visit to Macdonalds.

I dream of the day I earn enough there to buy a cup of McDonalds' coffee.

That said, I don't think I have any of my recent books there, so maybe that's part of the problem. It's just the thought of having to fight through the arcane web UI that puts me off every time I think of uploading them.
 

Bill Hiatt

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Re: D2D dropping Google Play and Playster
« Reply #10 on: November 05, 2019, 04:50:49 AM »
Just did some research on Playster, they are on their last leg and stopped acquiring new content a while ago. Also, we knew this was coming from Google play. I am fairly sure, not 100%, but mostly convinced that the direct account with google has to do with covering their ass and making sure they comply with laws in all the countries they operate. They can't do that if a distribution point is acting as the publisher.

I have never had a problem with D2D, but with the way they've spun this email, it left a bitter taste behind. I can see spinning it so D2D looks good, but they are bordering on delusional claims. They attempted to get their authors to write in and complain and change Google's mind, and that just wasn't going to happen. And if they genuinely cared about the stability of a company, they would have dropped Playster back in January.
I'll agree with D2D's approach was not optimal. On the other hand, I'm not sure I'm happy with Google's reasoning, either.

I'm inclined to agree that Google's position has something to do with covering its own ass, but why does its ass seem to need more cover than Kobo, Barnes and Noble, and Apple, all of which are content to deal with distributors without requiring a direct relationship with authors? Obviously, I'm not a lawyer, but I'm also not sure why dealing with authors as individuals is better. Google can block a particular author who is doing something wrong regardless of how that author accessed the platform. Outlets can even block individual titles sent in through a distributor--and do all the time. Also, in the past some distributors have been so hyper-concerned about pleasing outlets that they may have overreacted. I recall complaints where distributors blocked books that seemed to meet all the outlet guidelines.

Then there's the odd way Google rolled out the change. Yes, it was announced quite a while ago--but, if I'm remembering the chronology correctly, shortly after the agreement between Google and D2D. I doubt D2D would ever have made the agreement in the first place under those circumstances, although PublishDrive seems to have found a way to continue to distribute to Google Play under their system. (FYI, I'm trying that just to see what will happen, and Google Play is taking far more than the two business days it supposedly takes to ratify the arrangement. This is on a Google Book Partner account I've had for years, not even a new account creation.)

Thus, while I feel that D2D may have been in denial, I kind of understand the reaction.

As far as Playster is concerned, yeah, it looks as if it stopped acquiring new content in January. I'm not sure that I would expected D2D to dump it that fast, however. I've never made an ebook sale with them, but I've done pretty well in audio there, with some royalties trickling in every single month (thought I went through Findaway, not D2D). So if D2D authors were still making money from the platform, I can see D2D waiting before pulling the plug. After all, some outlets have gone under, but others have recovered, at least to some extent. How many times has the demise of Barnes and Noble been predicted, yet it's still there? And when Scribd cut its romance catalog, a lot of people thought that was the beginning of the end, yet it's still there as well.


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