# $450M payout (half indie/ half other pubs) for KU for the yr 2016 is very likely



## VEVO (Feb 9, 2012)

KOLL/KU Global Fund for July was $2.785 million  (average payout $1.80), 31 days of KOLL, 14 days of KU
KOLL/KU Global Fund for August was $4.7 million (average payout $1.54), 31 days of KOLL, 31 days of KU

$4.7 million a month x 12 months = $56.4 million.

That amount could go even higher depending on the popularity of Kindle Unlimited. Likewise, it could go lower, if Kindle Unlimited fails.  


--------------------

Updated info:

KOLL/KU Global Fund for July was $2.785 million  (average payout $1.80), 31 days of KOLL, 14 days of KU  --------1.547 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for August was $4.7 million (average payout $1.54) full month of KOLL and KU--------3.052 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for September was $5 million (average payout $1.52) full month of KOLL and KU-------3.29 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for October was $5.5 million (average payout $1.33) full month of KOLL and KU ---------4.14 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for November was $6.5 million (average payout $1.40) full month of KOLL and KU--------4.64 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for December was $7.25 million (average payout $1.43) full month of KOLL and KU --------5.07 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for January was $8.50 million (average payout $1.3 full month of KOLL and KU -----------6.15 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for February was $8.00 million (average payout $1.41) full month of KOLL and KU ------------5.67 million borrows  (28 days February)
KOLL/KU Global Fund for March was $9.30 million (average payout $1.34) full month of KOLL and KU ---------------6.94 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for April was $9.80 million (average payout $1.36) full month of KOLL and KU -----------------7.21 million borrows



July 18th 2014:  633,000 ebooks in KU
September 27th 2014:  733,000 ebooks in KU
January 16th 2015:  833,000 ebooks in KU
March 16, 2015: 900,000 ebooks in KU
May 11, 2015:  962,495 ebooks in KU


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## David Wisehart (Mar 2, 2010)

Plus the All-Star bonuses.


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## Dolphin (Aug 22, 2013)

Why would we assume that last month's pool would continue for the next 11 months? Pretty sure that's nonsense. Definitely sure I don't know what the point would be anyhow.


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## VEVO (Feb 9, 2012)

Dolphin said:


> Why would we assume that last month's pool would continue for the next 11 months? Pretty sure that's nonsense. Definitely sure I don't know what the point would be anyhow.


Like I said, it will all depend on the popularity / uptake of Kindle Unlimited.

More subscribers = higher revenue = higher payout pool

Less subscribers = less revenue = lower payout pool


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## 75845 (Jan 1, 1970)

They will need to keep that level of investment up for next with UK and Ireland now able to get free trials. How much they will need going on will depend on how much customers think KU is good value. Clever users of Scribd can avoid ever paying a cent because you get a free month for everyone you sign up to a free trial. That makes KU look very expensive, although Scribd cannot afford to sustain that freebie system for ever. There is a question mark over how many will pay $9.99/£7.99 per month if they normally read five free or 99 cent novels a month. Like has been said before, you cannot judge KU from a supplier's viewpoint until it is at least three months in.


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## George Donnelly (Mar 5, 2012)

This reminds me of Google's Adsense. Perhaps KU should be looked at like back in the day when people wrote content specifically to get adsense revenue from it, by placing google ads with the web content.

So with KU maybe we should we be studying what kind of content does best or is needed, create that and even encourage people to join it.

I don't know, just a random thought that parallel with Google Adsense (circa 2002).


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## Mark E. Cooper (May 29, 2011)

VEVO said:


> Like I said, it will all depend on the popularity / uptake of Kindle Unlimited.
> 
> More subscribers = higher revenue = higher payout pool
> 
> Less subscribers = less revenue = lower payout pool


Ummm, you're assuming Amazon wants to pay out more. Your formula could just as easily be:

More subscribers = higher revenue + lower payout pool = lower royalties = higher profit

The payout pool is entirely dependent upon the royalty per sale that Amazon decide they want, not the number of borrows or subscribers. They just throw more money in the pot or less depending upon that.


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## Saul Tanpepper (Feb 16, 2012)




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## VEVO (Feb 9, 2012)

Mark E. Cooper said:


> Ummm, you're assuming Amazon wants to pay out more. Your formula could just as easily be:
> 
> More subscribers = higher revenue + lower payout pool = lower royalties = higher profit
> 
> The payout pool is entirely dependent upon the royalty per sale that Amazon decide they want, not the number of borrows or subscribers. They just throw more money in the pot or less depending upon that.


Amazon is facing strong competition in the form of Apple and Google.

Amazon wants exclusives.

Lower payout per borrow will drive authors away.


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## Vaalingrade (Feb 19, 2013)

VEVO said:


> Lower payout per borrow will drive authors away.


I'm pretty sure they've been given an ample demonstration that it won't.


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## Mark E. Cooper (May 29, 2011)

Vaalingrade said:


> I'm pretty sure they've been given an ample demonstration that it won't.


I think I agree this time. I don't know everyone of course, but reading various posts not just here, i see more people going in each month as the payout comes down, not less. I'm not saying it isn't a concern to them, but most believe the "sacrifice" is worth the visibility. I have no idea who will prove to be right in the end.


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## Quiss (Aug 21, 2012)

Vaalingrade said:


> I'm pretty sure they've been given an ample demonstration that it won't.


I wonder, though, who is coming in, staying, leaving.
Again and again, I see comments from authors about "throwing in" some shorts or serials. That KU is good for "lowbies" is a no-brainer as long as they get a bigger payout than what they'd get outside KU.

I still haven't seen any definite view of what authors of higher-priced items are doing and we likely won't see that for a while as people are waiting to see if Amazon will keep topping things up.


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## VEVO (Feb 9, 2012)

Vaalingrade said:


> I'm pretty sure they've been given an ample demonstration that it won't.


If Amazon lower it to $1 per borrow, we will see many "known-name" authors leaving KDP Select.

Look at it this way, would many of the All-Stars authors that Amazon is wooing stay in KDP Select if the payout rate is $1 per borrow?


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## vlmain (Aug 10, 2011)

Quiss said:


> Again and again, I see comments from authors about "throwing in" some shorts or serials. That KU is good for "lowbies" is a no-brainer as long as they get a bigger payout than what they'd get outside KU.


I would love to see some numbers on how many shorts are actually being borrowed. I recently published a short and so far it's been all sales. My $2.99 has approximately twice as many borrows as sales.


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## pauldude000 (May 22, 2013)

vlmain said:


> I would love to see some numbers on how many shorts are actually being borrowed. I recently published a short and so far it's been all sales. My $2.99 has approximately twice as many borrows as sales.


My short "Meet Bill" is getting the lions share of my borrows. The next in line is my new survival how-to "Water 4 Survival", which would qualify as a long short. Surprisingly, the popular fiction novels in my lineup are getting relatively few borrows and the same is true of my higher priced how-to books -- go figure.

I would have expected the opposite to be true.


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## Vaalingrade (Feb 19, 2013)

VEVO said:


> If Amazon lower it to $1 per borrow, we will see many "known-name" authors leaving KDP Select.
> 
> Look at it this way, would many of the All-Stars authors that Amazon is wooing stay in KDP Select if the payout rate is $1 per borrow?


Skee-balling 25K directly into their pants cures all ills.


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## C Ryan Bymaster (Oct 4, 2013)

Vaalingrade said:


> Skee-balling 25K directly into their pants cures all ills.


I concur


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## Molly Tomorrow (Jul 22, 2014)

Mark E. Cooper said:


> I think I agree this time. I don't know everyone of course, but reading various posts not just here, i see more people going in each month as the payout comes down, not less. I'm not saying it isn't a concern to them, but most believe the "sacrifice" is worth the visibility. I have no idea who will prove to be right in the end.


At present it's really not a sacrifice though. The lower per-borrow rate is being blown out of the water by a dramatic and significant increase in total revenue. It's the sort of "sacrifice" that really isn't a sacrifice at all. Like giving up cabbage for lent. Even if the borrow rate dropped to $1 it would still be a no brainer for me (and they only skeeballed $1000 into _my_ pants, which really wasn't a factor in my decision as I'm treating it like a one-off bonus). Like literally anyone could look at my numbers in and out of Select and at other vendors before and after KU and see that at $1 per borrow it would be financial idiocy for me to leave the program, _at the moment_. This is going to vary from person to person though. I know a lot of people in a similar position. I'm sure a lot of people are not.

There's isn't an end and there's nothing to prove. For most of us it's just an ongoing business decision. Same as it is for you.

And in writing this a lot of the KU threads suddenly make more sense to me. I was puzzled as to why these threads seem to get dominated by speculation from people who aren't in Select and have no intention of going in Select. I think it's because people who are in Select don't need to speculate or try and convince others they made the right decision or not. They're responding and making decision based on their own actual circumstances rather than speculative generalisations.


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## Usedtopostheretoo! (Feb 27, 2011)

Molly Tomorrow said:


> And in writing this a lot of the KU threads suddenly make more sense to me. I was puzzled as to why these threads seem to get dominated by speculation from people who aren't in Select and have no intention of going in Select. I think it's because people who are in Select don't need to speculate or try and convince others they made the right decision or not. They're responding and making decision based on their own actual circumstances rather than speculative generalisations.


You're on to something.


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## a_g (Aug 9, 2013)

Mark E. Cooper said:


> I think I agree this time. I don't know everyone of course, but reading various posts not just here, i see more people going in each month *as the payout comes down*, not less. I'm not saying it isn't a concern to them, but most believe the "sacrifice" is worth the visibility. I have no idea who will prove to be right in the end.


Just out of curiosity, does anyone know the numbers for September yet? Otherwise, how many data points do we have that show the trend of the payouts coming down?

I know I saw someone post the payouts that dated back to the beginning of time or some such. Is it efficacious to assume that with the addition of KU that the trend will continue down or should we wait until more numbers come in now that KU is in effect?

I'm just wondering if it's wise to compare pre-KU trends with only 2 months post-KU and not giving the new program time to settle down.


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## Dolphin (Aug 22, 2013)

anderson_gray said:


> Just out of curiosity, does anyone know the numbers for September yet? Otherwise, how many data points do we have that show the trend of the payouts coming down?


OP is basing it off of one data point. This isn't a sensible thread.


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## VEVO (Feb 9, 2012)

anderson_gray said:


> I know I saw someone post the payouts that dated back to the beginning of time or some such.


Mike McIntyre posted that information. I have it saved so reposting it here:

Kindle Owner Lending Library:

12/11: $1.70
01/12: $1.60
02/12: $2.01
03/12: $2.18
04/12: $2.48
05/12: $2.26
06/12: $2.08
07/12: $2.04
08/12: $2.12
09/12: $2.29
10/12: $2.36
11/12: $1.90
12/12: $1.88
01/13: $2.23
02/13: $2.31
03/13: $1.94
04/13: $2.27
05/13: $2.24
06/13: $2.24
07/13: $2.04
08/13: $2.26
09/13: $2.42
10/13: $2.51
11/13: $2.46
12/13: $1.86
01/14: $1.93
02/14: $2.24
03/14: $2.10
04/14: $2.24
05/14: $2.17
06/14: $2.24

Kindle Owner Lending Library and Kindle Unlimited

07/14: $1.80 (31 full days of KOLL and *14* full days of KU)
08/14: $1.54 (31 full days of KOLL and *31* full days of KU)



> Just out of curiosity, does anyone know the numbers for September yet?


September actual number won't be known until mid-October.
But Amazon did announce this

https://kdp.amazon.com/community/ann.jspa?annID=540



> Hello,
> The KDP Select global fund amount is $3 million for September 2014.


Though Amazon usually add money to it. They only announced $2 million for August and added $2.7 million to make it $4.7 million.

Total payout for September will depend on how many 1-month free trial subscribers decide to stay on.


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## a_g (Aug 9, 2013)

VEVO said:


> Mike McIntyre posted that information. I have it saved so reposting it here:


Thanks. I have it saved now. 



VEVO said:


> September actual number won't be known until mid-October.


Ah. That's what I thought. I'm impatient.



VEVO said:


> Total payout for September will depend on how many 1-month free trial subscribers decide to stay on.


True, which is why I'm not really worried about a 'downward trend' just yet. Since I'm assuming that the chart which shows KOLL numbers from inception the first two months also showed a trending downward and then jumped back to over $2, it is likely we may see the same for September.

Or, we may not.

We won't know until mid-October.


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## Elizabeth Ann West (Jul 11, 2011)

I will tell you my take, and this is just me, but I have a feeling others feel something similar.

Everyone uses different tools to market their books. Some use permafree, where they literally make $0 on a book to get sales on other books. Others use 99 cent sales, or 99 cent box sales, again, making .35 a sale or less (some make nothing to help pay for marketing etc.). 

I use Kindle Unlimited. I would much rather make $1.54, or even $.99 on a book in order to capture that fan. This morning, I had an email from a reader in my Inbox asking me when my next book is coming out, telling me she had just borrowed and read all 3 of my novellas. THAT is why I am in Kindle Unlimited. Not because I expect it to make me rich, not because I an Amazon lackey, but because it is a marketing tool I evaluated and decided it was something I was interested in leveraging.

I don't agree personally with permafree, I never have. But, I won't tell those who are using permafree as a tool that they are somehow hurting my business or being dumb etc. It works for them. Honestly, as long as KU is above .35 a borrow I will probably stay in because it's a discovery tool, just like a 99 cent book would be. But by using KU, I can keep my prices retail and not diminish that part of my publishing brand.

So now, can we stop speculating why authors are still remaining/joining KU even though the borrow rate is going down, but the volume of borrows is going up for many authors? It's not rocket science.


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## 75845 (Jan 1, 1970)

VEVO said:


> Total payout for September will depend on how many 1-month free trial subscribers decide to stay on.


You should be getting another few months on the gravy train as UK has been brought into KU and Germany comes on board in time for Oktoberfest, so it will probably early 2015 until you get a proper picture of how attractive a paid-for KU account is.

Something else to consider is the size of TBR piles many readers deal with - why may £7.99 before reading down the pile? On the other hand Scribd users never have to pay a cent if they can recruit one new person to take on a trial every month.


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## Mark E. Cooper (May 29, 2011)

Molly Tomorrow said:


> At present it's really not a sacrifice though. The lower per-borrow rate is being blown out of the water by a dramatic and significant increase in total revenue. It's the sort of "sacrifice" that really isn't a sacrifice at all. Like giving up cabbage for lent. Even if the borrow rate dropped to $1 it would still be a no brainer for me (and they only skeeballed $1000 into _my_ pants, which really wasn't a factor in my decision as I'm treating it like a one-off bonus). Like literally anyone could look at my numbers in and out of Select and at other vendors before and after KU and see that at $1 per borrow it would be financial idiocy for me to leave the program, _at the moment_. This is going to vary from person to person though. I know a lot of people in a similar position. I'm sure a lot of people are not.
> 
> There's isn't an end and there's nothing to prove. For most of us it's just an ongoing business decision. Same as it is for you.
> 
> And in writing this a lot of the KU threads suddenly make more sense to me. I was puzzled as to why these threads seem to get dominated by speculation from people who aren't in Select and have no intention of going in Select. I think it's because people who are in Select don't need to speculate or try and convince others they made the right decision or not. They're responding and making decision based on their own actual circumstances rather than speculative generalisations.


But I am in Select, but only for 1 title and soon to be 2 (it's a sequel) That's why I feel I have a right to speculate.


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## vlmain (Aug 10, 2011)

Elizabeth Ann West said:


> I will tell you my take, and this is just me, but I have a feeling others feel something similar.
> 
> Everyone uses different tools to market their books. Some use permafree, where they literally make $0 on a book to get sales on other books. Others use 99 cent sales, or 99 cent box sales, again, making .35 a sale or less (some make nothing to help pay for marketing etc.).
> 
> ...


Thank you! This is exactly why I am in Select. It's a marketing tool for me. It gives me an opportunity to reach readers I may not otherwise reach. And I'll stay in as long as they continue to pay me for borrows, because I consider those royalties a bonus.


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## Tara Shuler (Apr 24, 2011)

VEVO said:


> If Amazon lower it to $1 per borrow, we will see many "known-name" authors leaving KDP Select.
> 
> Look at it this way, would many of the All-Stars authors that Amazon is wooing stay in KDP Select if the payout rate is $1 per borrow?


$1 is my absolute lowest acceptable amount. If they ever drop lower than that, I'll pull everything I have at the end of their current terms except for any shorts that are priced at 99 cents. And I'm not even an All-Star.


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## Mark E. Cooper (May 29, 2011)

Tara Shuler said:


> $1 is my absolute lowest acceptable amount. If they ever drop lower than that, I'll pull everything I have at the end of their current terms except for any shorts that are priced at 99 cents. And I'm not even an All-Star.


I'm sure Amazon will be very pleased to read this and similar thoughts. They now know they can safely lower it to $1.01 and everything will be fine


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## Saul Tanpepper (Feb 16, 2012)

Mark E. Cooper said:


> I'm sure Amazon will be very pleased to read this and similar thoughts. They now know they can safely lower it to $1.01 and everything will be fine


As much as I agree with this sentiment, I suspect Amazon already has a solid grasp of what the flee rate is at various payout levels. They have the experience, data, and analytics to make some fairly accurate predictions. I see the drop to $1.54 from $1.81 (and that drop from ~$2) as more data collecting on their part. Give it a few more months for dynamics to begin to stabilize, by which time they'll have a good idea where Select enrollment can't keep up with egress. That inflection point will be the new payout average, not whether I personally say my pain threshold is a buck, fifty cents or a dollar twenty.


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## VEVO (Feb 9, 2012)

Not sure if this is relevant but KU started with around 633,000 ebooks.

2 months and 10 days later, it's at 733,000 ebooks.

Though the most important part of KU is the paying subscriber numbers.


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## katrina46 (May 23, 2014)

GeorgeDonnelly said:


> This reminds me of Google's Adsense. Perhaps KU should be looked at like back in the day when people wrote content specifically to get adsense revenue from it, by placing google ads with the web content.
> 
> So with KU maybe we should we be studying what kind of content does best or is needed, create that and even encourage people to join it.
> 
> I don't know, just a random thought that parallel with Google Adsense (circa 2002).


Ah, the Google Adsense days. I remember well.


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## katrina46 (May 23, 2014)

Quiss said:


> I wonder, though, who is coming in, staying, leaving.
> Again and again, I see comments from authors about "throwing in" some shorts or serials. That KU is good for "lowbies" is a no-brainer as long as they get a bigger payout than what they'd get outside KU.
> 
> I still haven't seen any definite view of what authors of higher-priced items are doing and we likely won't see that for a while as people are waiting to see if Amazon will keep topping things up.


I don't understand how authors throwing so many shorts is enough to entice people to subscribe to KU. I mean sure, erotica readers will. It beats paying 2.99 for 10 thousand words. For other readers, most won't pay 99 cents for a short, so why would they pay 120 a year unless the majority of titles are novels? Then once in their number of borrows is limited, so why would they waste them on a bunch of shorts? I do hear short story writers say they are doing well, but I can't figure out why. As a reader it doesn't seem practical. I love short stories myself and won't pay unless they're erotica. It just isn't enough of a read to justify that dollar to me.


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## Dolphin (Aug 22, 2013)

katrina46 said:


> I don't understand how authors throwing so many shorts is enough to entice people to subscribe to KU. I mean sure, erotica readers will. It beats paying 2.99 for 10 thousand words. For other readers, most won't pay 99 cents for a short, so why would they pay 120 a year unless the majority of titles are novels? Then once in their number of borrows is limited, so why would they waste them on a bunch of shorts? I do hear short story writers say they are doing well, but I can't figure out why. As a reader it doesn't seem practical. I love short stories myself and won't pay unless they're erotica. It just isn't enough of a read to justify that dollar to me.


Correct me if I'm wrong here, but I believe that KU allows you to borrow an...unlimited...number of books each month. The 10 title limitation is how many you can borrow at a given time. If you try to borrow an 11th title, you're prompted to return one of the borrows, then free to go about your business. Read every books if you feel like it. Every single books.


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## ruecole (Jun 13, 2012)

Yup. That's how it works. Betsy (and a few others) explained it.

Hope that helps!

Rue


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## katrina46 (May 23, 2014)

Dolphin said:


> Correct me if I'm wrong here, but I believe that KU allows you to borrow an...unlimited...number of books each month. The 10 title limitation is how many you can borrow at a given time. If you try to borrow an 11th title, you're prompted to return one of the borrows, then free to go about your business. Read every books if you feel like it. Every single books.


Ah that makes more sense. I'm still not paying 120 a year though. I prefer to purchase my books when I decide I can afford them, rather than pay a monthly fee. I even spend more than that,but again, I control when. I don't do netflix for the same reason. I guess I'm not the subscriber type. If I actually were, Scribd is a buck cheaper and has more books. That could change over time, but it's true for now. In fact I wonder if there won't be a price war. I think if anything will actually hurt the KU payout it will be Amazon being forced to lower their price in order to compete. That's just my guess. The times I've visited Scribd its selection looked pretty awesome. I don't see Amazon taking their readers any time soon.


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## Mark E. Cooper (May 29, 2011)

ruecole said:


> Yup. That's how it works. Betsy (and a few others) explained it.
> 
> Hope that helps!
> 
> Rue


Not just kindle books. All the whisper synched audio titles connected to those Select books are also "free"


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## Dolphin (Aug 22, 2013)

katrina46 said:


> Ah that makes more sense. I'm still not paying 120 a year though. I prefer to purchase my books when I decide I can afford them, rather than pay a monthly fee. I even spend more than that,but again, I control when. I don't do netflix for the same reason. I guess I'm not the subscriber type. If I actually were, Scribd is a buck cheaper and has more books. That could change over time, but it's true for now. In fact I wonder if there won't be a price war. I think if anything will actually hurt the KU payout it will be Amazon being forced to lower their price in order to compete. That's just my guess. The times I've visited Scribd its selection looked pretty awesome. I don't see Amazon taking their readers any time soon.


Amazon's #1 move is to compete on margins instead of payouts. They've left KDP sale royalties at 35/70% even though they're taking horrifying quarterly losses. The entire KU/KOLL pool only represents a small fraction of what they lost in the 2nd quarter this year. If there's ever any connection between KU payouts and KU revenues, it'll probably be tenuous at best. They'll be happy to lose money on it indefinitely, for reasons that should be obvious.

One of those reasons that could clearly benefit authors is that lots of people like to own their ebooks forever instead of borrowing them, so KU borrows could lead directly to KU sales. Some readers may be willing to pay $10 each month just to read past 10%, and still wind up buying the books in the end.


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## LanceGreencastle (Nov 25, 2011)

Dolphin said:


> One of those reasons that could clearly benefit authors is that lots of people like to own their ebooks forever instead of borrowing them, so KU borrows could lead directly to KU sales. Some readers may be willing to pay $10 each month just to read past 10%, and still wind up buying the books in the end.


I could easily see myself buying a book that I have borrowed. KU's only been in the UK for a few days so I've not done it yet. At the moment I am working my way through all the $0.99 and $2.99 shorts and novellas that I didn't feel like paying for 
Four $2.99 novellas borrowed and read. I'm ahead and fellow writers have four borrow payments. Even better for the $0.99 shorts as the authors will get more than $0.35 and I basically have just to open the book and 10% gets read.

Note to self: get started on all those $0.99 cent erotica shorts.


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## VEVO (Feb 9, 2012)

http://rogerpacker.com/blog/amazon-tops-kdp-select-fund-5-million-september-kindle-unlimited-payout-rate-authors-holds-steady-1-51/

_Amazon have yet again topped up the monthly KDP Select Global Fund, with September's total fund ending up at a new high of $5 million after $2 million was added this week to the $3 million originally set, but the payout rate for authors on Kindle Unlimited still dropped to a new low of $1.51 per borrow.

The September payout on borrows is only slightly down on August's $1.54 when the total KDP Select fund amounted to $4.7 million, so it could be that the rate has reached some sort of stability and perhaps a sustainable level after falling sharply from $1.86 in July, the first month of operation for Kindle Unlimited._

KOLL/KU Global Fund for July was $2.785 million (average payout $1.80), 31 days of KOLL, *14* days of KU
KOLL/KU Global Fund for August was $4.7 million (average payout $1.54), 31 days of KOLL, 31 days of KU
KOLL/KU Global Fund for September was $5 million (average payout $1.52), 30 days of KOLL, 30 days of KU


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## unkownwriter (Jun 22, 2011)

I thought I'd put my experiences with KU so far up. This is for the last 90 days:

1 novel: approximately 55K words. This is my only novel up (a pen name). Originally priced at 4.99, because I thought I'd get a lot of borrows. Lowered to 2.99, but will probably raise the price again soon.

9/11 1 borrow
10/10 1 borrow

1 short story:  approximately 6K words. This is the only thing for this pen name in Select/KU, but I have a collection on all sites. Priced at .99

10/7 1 borrow
10/9 1 borrow
10/15 2 borrows
10/15 1 sale

Considering that I have very little work available, I think I've done pretty well. I haven't promoted anything. I'm focusing on getting more work out under each pen name first, so there's more for people to buy.

So far, I think my strategy is going to be to put shorter works in KU (I'm working on some serials, too), possibly also collections, and put future novels on all platforms. That way I can experiment with perma free.

I plan to revisit covers, blurbs, categories and keywords as I get more ready to publish, especially since I'm getting to the point of doing a POD version of the novel. I'll need to rework the cover because I seem to have lost the .psd file I'd made that matches the ebook.  

What Amazon ends up doing with the program is beyond me. It would make good business sense to restrict shorter works somehow, possibly by cutting the payout based on a cut off (less than X words = Y amount). All I know is, Amazon is customer-centric. They'll do what they think is best for customer satisfaction. There are more authors where we came from.


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## 75845 (Jan 1, 1970)

If Amazon was customer-centric they would pay us 70% for books below $2.99 (as Apple do) and stop encouraging higher pricing and would stop publishers having to go through breach of TOS backward somersaults to get a book set to free. Amazon is Amazon-centric and sooner or later will have to become making-a-profit-centric.


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## Drake (Apr 30, 2014)

I was happier when the KOLL rate was over $2., but as long as Select continues to be profitable for me I'll continue participating.  Hopefully after the free trials on KU shake out the rate will go back up.  Hope springs eternal.


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## Vaalingrade (Feb 19, 2013)

Mercia McMahon said:


> Amazon is Amazon-centric and sooner or later will have to become making-a-profit-centric.


They've managed to avoid the P-word for nigh on 20 years now. At this point, I'm sure they're literally just printing 'IOU' on the stock certificates.


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## VEVO (Feb 9, 2012)

Interesting...

http://authorearnings.com/report/october-2014-author-earnings-report-2/












> Indies hold their own when it comes to units moved, making up nearly half (47%) of the KU titles downloaded (borrowed or sold) each day. But this is where Amazon Publishing imprints really show their power, outperforming other publishing types in KU on a per-title basis by a factor of 13, as A-Pub's 2% of Best Selling KU Titles accounts for 26% of downloads. This is a little misleading, however, as A-pub represents far fewer titles, and thus their per-title averages are not brought down by a low-performing long tail. Again, the Big Five Publishers represent 0% of the downloads of KU Titles -- they have no books in KU.


_Edited to shrink image to accommodate those using mobile devices or older monitors. Thanks for understanding. --Betsy_


----------



## VEVO (Feb 9, 2012)

KOLL/KU Global Fund for July was $2.785 million  (average payout $1.80), 31 days of KOLL, 14 days of KU  --------1.547 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for August was $4.7 million (average payout $1.54) full month of KOLL and KU--------3.052 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for September was $5 million (average payout $1.52) full month of KOLL and KU-------3.29 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for October was $5.5 million (average payout $1.33) full month of KOLL and KU ---------4.14 million borrows


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## vlmain (Aug 10, 2011)

VEVO said:


> Interesting...
> 
> http://authorearnings.com/report/october-2014-author-earnings-report-2/


Interesting, indeed. Thanks for posting this, VEVO.


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## JumpingShip (Jun 3, 2010)

GeorgeDonnelly said:


> This reminds me of Google's Adsense. Perhaps KU should be looked at like back in the day when people wrote content specifically to get adsense revenue from it, by placing google ads with the web content.
> 
> So with KU maybe we should we be studying what kind of content does best or is needed, create that and even encourage people to join it.
> 
> I don't know, just a random thought that parallel with Google Adsense (circa 2002).


People are doing that already. I know that I have just temporarily shelved a book that will be around 90k when finished so I can add to a romantic series I started over a year ago. (under a penname). I had quit working on it to finish some novels I had in the works. I made the first installment of the serial perma-free since I wasn't sure when I'd get back to it and I didn't want to have paying readers left hanging. So, just last night, after the disappointing KU payout, I decided my time might be better used to work on the serial again since it is romance, and each installment is about 15k. I can get several more of those out in the time it would take me to complete my novel. Plus, the romance serial doesn't have complicated plot twists, so it's not as difficult for me to write.

I don't know if the serial will sell but it gives me options since most of my other books are all from one series. It gives me options.


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## cinisajoy (Mar 10, 2013)

As far as the books on KU go, if I liked Oprah's book recommendations I will join in a heartbeat.  If I wanted to read all the Harry Potter's I would join.  
Contrary to what one reads here, KU is not all shorts.  I went and looked.  If one so chooses they can browse the entire catalog without joining.
Other point,  if you want to be in KU, be in KU.  If you don't,  then don't.  If you join and find it isn't working for you then change your business plan.  
Though I have to say the speculations are fun to read.


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## vlmain (Aug 10, 2011)

cinisajoy said:


> Other point, if you want to be in KU, be in KU. If you don't, then don't. If you join and find it isn't working for you then change your business plan.


Exactly! Marketing books is no different than marketing any other type of business. Find what works and do that. If a particular method isn't working, don't do it. It takes some experimentation with different methods, but if you track results, you will identify what's working pretty quickly.


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## Vaalingrade (Feb 19, 2013)

This is why Author Solutions still makes money...


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## VEVO (Feb 9, 2012)

Global Fund for November was $6.5 million. Payout at $1.40

KOLL/KU Global Fund for July was $2.785 million (average payout $1.80), 31 days of KOLL, 14 days of KU --------1.547 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for August was $4.7 million (average payout $1.54) full month of KOLL and KU--------3.052 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for September was $5 million (average payout $1.52) full month of KOLL and KU-------3.29 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for October was $5.5 million (average payout $1.33) full month of KOLL and KU ---------4.14 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for November was $6.5 million (average payout $1.40) full month of KOLL and KU--------4.64 million borrows

IF $6.5 million is the new "normal" then we might be looking at $6.5 mil x 12 months =* $78 million* a year instead of $56.4 million. With "borrows" trending up, this could very well happen.


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## VEVO (Feb 9, 2012)

Global Fund for December was $7.25 million. Payout at $1.43

KOLL/KU Global Fund for July was $2.785 million (average payout $1.80), 31 days of KOLL, 14 days of KU --------1.547 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for August was $4.7 million (average payout $1.54) full month of KOLL and KU--------3.052 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for September was $5 million (average payout $1.52) full month of KOLL and KU-------3.29 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for October was $5.5 million (average payout $1.33) full month of KOLL and KU ---------4.14 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for November was $6.5 million (average payout $1.40) full month of KOLL and KU--------4.64 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for December was $7.25 million (average payout $1.43) full month of KOLL and KU --------5.07 million borrows

At the current rate of $7.25 million a year, the yearly payout would be $7.25 a month x 12 months = *$87 million*.


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## VEVO (Feb 9, 2012)

July 18th 2014:  633,000 ebooks
September 27th 2014:  733,000 ebooks
January 16th 2014:  833,000 ebooks

The number of books in the program continues to increase.


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## VEVO (Feb 9, 2012)

KOLL/KU Global Fund for July was $2.785 million (average payout $1.80), 31 days of KOLL, 14 days of KU --------1.547 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for August was $4.7 million (average payout $1.54) full month of KOLL and KU--------3.052 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for September was $5 million (average payout $1.52) full month of KOLL and KU-------3.29 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for October was $5.5 million (average payout $1.33) full month of KOLL and KU ---------4.14 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for November was $6.5 million (average payout $1.40) full month of KOLL and KU--------4.64 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for December was $7.25 million (average payout $1.43) full month of KOLL and KU --------5.07 million borrows

At the current rate of $7.25 million a year, the yearly payout would be $7.25 a month x 12 months = *$87 million*.

But the trend is on the up and up. $100 million this year possible?

p.s.

July 18th 2014: 633,000 ebooks in KU
September 27th 2014: 733,000 ebooks in KU
January 16th 2014: 833,000 ebooks in KU

Might get to 1,000,000 ebooks before the end of the year.


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## Colin (Aug 6, 2011)

> p.s.
> 
> July 18th 2014: 633,000 ebooks in KU
> September 27th 2014: 733,000 ebooks in KU
> January 16th 2014: 833,000 ebooks in KU


I wonder what percentage of these new to KU 'ebooks' are scamlets and chopped up novels.


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## Molly Tomorrow (Jul 22, 2014)

Colin said:


> I wonder what percentage of these new to KU 'ebooks' are scamlets and chopped up novels.


I don't think it's nearly as significant as a lot of people seem to think it is. The get-rich-quick pamphlets will pesist, and take lots of little bites out of the pot each time someone discovers and exploits a new niche. But that happened before KU as well. The "chopped up novel" thing I'm beginning to feel is a bit of an urban legend. I've seen it talked about a lot, but I do a fair amount of browsing for research and can't recal ever coming across one... or seeing one posted here. I'm sure it happens, but I don't think it's particularly common and wouldn't expect it to be well received.

One way to keep tabs on this kind of thing is to go to KU: New Releases and sort by publication date. This gives you an idea of what's being published to KU at any given time. I just scanned the first dozen pages or so and the mix didn't seem any different to what you'd see in the regular store at any given time in the last couple of years.


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## Colin (Aug 6, 2011)

Molly Tomorrow said:


> ... I just scanned the first dozen pages or so and the mix didn't seem any different to what you'd see in the regular store at any given time in the last couple of years.


That's good to know. Thanks for the reply.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

merged two similar threads -- sorry for any confusion


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## VEVO (Feb 9, 2012)

http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/digital/conferences/article/65280-amazon-s-grandinetti-speaks-at-dbw-2015.html

Later during a panel on the e-book subscription model, Nielsen BookScan's Jonathan Stolper offered data on the subscription market. E-book subscription represents 5% of the book business (10% if you include Amazon Prime, removed because it's not truly a subscription program); 56% of book buyers are 18 to 29 years old, while 79% of e-book subscribers match that demographic. E-book subscribers skew a bit more male and are willing to pay up to $17/month for access (the median was $10/month) and e-book subscription does not seem to affect their other book purchases.

The panel, which included Kensington publisher Steven Zacharius and S&S v-p Douglas Stambaugh in addition to representatives from Scribd and Oyster, heaped praise on the business model. "We make money on e-book subscription," said Zacharius, "I hope they're making money too." Kensington also offers frontlist titles via the services and Zacharius said, "there's no cannabiliization of print." S&S offers only backlist. "Genre fiction does well, romance, new adult, indie authors. Deep backlist has done well. It's early but we're happy,' Stambaugh said.

Zacharius said he has 2,000 titles on Amazon's Kindle Unlimited, 3,500 each on Oyster and Scribd, "no windowing, same catalog on both and the top ten titles on each are very similar." Stambaugh agreed: "subscription is getting people to read more. It is not taking heavy buyers and turning them into subscribers. It's more male with wider reading. It's a healthy option for publishers. We only offer backlist today, but tomorrow, who knows?"


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## VEVO (Feb 9, 2012)

http://lj.libraryjournal.com/2015/01/technology/ebooks/dbw-2015-amazon-publishers-look-to-ebook-subscription-services-as-discovery-platform/

_Officials at Amazon believe subscription-based ebook consumption is an inevitability, and will continue to invest in and build the company's Kindle Unlimited service as part of an effort to stay ahead of the emerging trend, Russell Grandinetti, senior VP, Kindle, at Amazon explained during a candid general session interview on January 14 at the Digital Book World (DBW) Conference and Expo 2015 in New York. Michael Cader, founder of Publishers Lunch, and Mike Shatzkin, founder and CEO of the Idea Logical Company conducted the Q&A.

"We can all observe the fact, that in every single digital media category, subscriptions are playing an important role," Grandinetti said. "In music, in movies, in newspapers-you cannot find a digital medium where subscription isn't a model that succeeds at some level, and I don't think books will be immune to this."

"What we need to do," he said to an audience of mostly publishers and ebook technology vendors, "is think about how subscription could be a great value for the customers who participate, but grow the business, and [have subscription services] be incremental" to regular book and ebook sales.
One problem, he said, is that "à la carte" sales of ebooks are currently a healthy and growing part of the publishing business. It is easy to take this growth for granted, and assume that people will always be content to purchase ebooks this way.

As a cautionary example, he pointed to the music industry, where companies now "are just so happy for anybody to pay anything for music." Even streaming services such as Spotify compete with YouTube and outright piracy, he noted. Ebooks currently don't suffer from this problem to the same degree. Amazon's goal is to offer new, profitable ways to help customers access content, without damaging individual ebook sales, he explained.
"À la carte is healthy, so how can we structure [Kindle Unlimited] in a way where, for the right customer at the right time, and the right publisher or author at the right time, it helps to grow the business."

Although Kindle Unlimited is just six months old, Grandinetti said that subscribers to the service continue to purchase ebooks, and appear to read more in general.

"One of the ways we gauge what's happening is [by asking] 'can we get people to read more?'" he said. "We measure this in a few different ways&#8230;. How many books do people read, that we can see? How often do they read? How many times a week do they read? And then the total amount of time they spend reading&#8230;. We have a robust sample of about 60 days before and 60 days after [customer adoption of Kindle Unlimited]-all of those metrics are up by 30 to 40 percent in the 60 days after joining the service."

Grandinetti acknowledged that it is possible that some of this increase is due to "share shift" from other forms of reading, such as print books or other subscription services, but "the amount of growth and triangulating [data] a few other ways make us feel like there's a significant amount of primary demand generation."_


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## VEVO (Feb 9, 2012)

July 18th 2014:  633,000 ebooks
September 27th 2014:  733,000 ebooks
January 16th 2015:  833,000 ebooks
February 2nd 2015: 850,660 ebooks

Increasing at the rate of 1000 ebooks a day for the past 2 weeks or so.


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## LeonardDHilleyII (May 23, 2011)

Vaalingrade said:


> Skee-balling 25K directly into their pants cures all ills.


^^^Great point!


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## Barbara Morgenroth (May 14, 2010)

My books were in for 6 months and Select/KU didn't work as a marketing tool for me.  Each niche audience is different.


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## Tyler Danann (Nov 1, 2013)

Ok, can someone explain what KU / KOLL means for the author?
I've had a few borrows over the past few months but haven't made a dime off them. Is it where the buyer gives the money to Amazon, the buyer gets the book and the author gets a kick up the wazoo?


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## Dolphin (Aug 22, 2013)

Tyler Danann said:


> Ok, can someone explain what KU / KOLL means for the author?
> I've had a few borrows over the past few months but haven't made a dime off them. Is it where the buyer gives the money to Amazon, the buyer gets the book and the author gets a kick up the wazoo?


The reader pays for a year of Prime membership or a month of KU membership, then borrows for free. KU/KOLL borrow royalties are funded from a mysterious, arbitrary pile of money. The borrow royalty in a given month equals Arbitrary Pile of Money divided by Total Number of Borrows, or about $1.20-1.50 per borrow these days. If you're an exceptionally successful KU minion, you also get your own small, private pile of money and a Gold Star.

The actual amount of the borrow royalty for a given month isn't known until about the 15th of the following month, when royalty reports are generated. E.g. in about two weeks we'll be able to tell you how much a borrow was worth in January. Until then we have the pleasure of speculating about how awful things are and whether or not the royalties will be so low as to kill our pets, misplace our socks, and generally wreak every sort of possible mischief.

The only way your books get read from Amazon royalty-free and unabridged is if they're price-matched to free or returned.


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## Tyler Danann (Nov 1, 2013)

Ok thanks for that clarification, was worried Amazon were pulling moves and hustling authors.


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## VEVO (Feb 9, 2012)

July 18th 2014:  633,000 ebooks in KU
September 27th 2014:  733,000 ebooks in KU
January 16th 2014:  833,000 ebooks in KU

30 days later: 865,472  (~1000 ebooks per day added)

At this rate, it will take 135 days to reach 1 million ebooks in KU.


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## EC (Aug 20, 2013)

VEVO said:


> July 18th 2014: 633,000 ebooks in KU
> September 27th 2014: 733,000 ebooks in KU
> January 16th 2014: 833,000 ebooks in KU
> 
> ...


Slightly later than I thought it would take - I thought they would have achieved it by the end of the first quarter.

Anyway - it seems that all those authors pulling out in an attempt to starve KU of content have an uphill battle.

And I bet Zon has the trumpet player rehearsing already - "Choose From A Million Books For Only $9.99 A Month."

What a fanfare that will be.


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## VEVO (Feb 9, 2012)

KOLL/KU Global Fund for July was $2.785 million  (average payout $1.80), 31 days of KOLL, 14 days of KU  --------1.547 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for August was $4.7 million (average payout $1.54) full month of KOLL and KU--------3.052 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for September was $5 million (average payout $1.52) full month of KOLL and KU-------3.29 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for October was $5.5 million (average payout $1.33) full month of KOLL and KU ---------4.14 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for November was $6.5 million (average payout $1.40) full month of KOLL and KU--------4.64 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for December was $7.25 million (average payout $1.43) full month of KOLL and KU --------5.07 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for January was $8.50 million (average payout $1.3 full month of KOLL and KU -----------6.15 million borrows


At the current rate of $8.5 million a month, 12 months x $8.5 mil = $102 million

Though I have a feeling that the number will just keep increasing.


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## Cherise (May 13, 2012)

VEVO said:


> http://lj.libraryjournal.com/2015/01/technology/ebooks/dbw-2015-amazon-publishers-look-to-ebook-subscription-services-as-discovery-platform/
> 
> _Officials at Amazon believe subscription-based ebook consumption is an inevitability, and will continue to invest in and build the company's Kindle Unlimited service as part of an effort to stay ahead of the emerging trend, Russell Grandinetti, senior VP, Kindle, at Amazon explained during a candid general session interview on January 14 at the Digital Book World (DBW) Conference and Expo 2015 in New York. Michael Cader, founder of Publishers Lunch, and Mike Shatzkin, founder and CEO of the Idea Logical Company conducted the Q&A.
> 
> ...


This is enlightening. Thanks for posting it.


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## TechnicianCerberus (Feb 14, 2015)

I've been wondering how KU lendings affect ranking and things like that. Do they count as book sales and increase the book's rank on the bestseller list? Do they count as purchases for Amazon recommendations?


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## VEVO (Feb 9, 2012)

TechnicianCerberus said:


> I've been wondering how KU lendings affect ranking and things like that. Do they count as book sales and increase the book's rank on the bestseller list? Do they count as purchases for Amazon recommendations?


i might be wrong but a KU borrow is equivalent to a sale for Ranking purpose.


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## VEVO (Feb 9, 2012)

July 18th 2014:  633,000 ebooks in KU
September 27th 2014:  733,000 ebooks in KU
January 16th 2015:  833,000 ebooks in KU

March 16, 2015: 900,000 ebooks in KU

About 100 days from 1 million.


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## Guest (Mar 16, 2015)

1) This is my understanding too: 1 borrow = 1 sale for ranking purposes.

2) Vevo, do we have a comparative idea of payouts? i.e. how have payouts changed (total, and per borrow) as number of books in KU have increased?

Your list:July 18th 2014:  633,000 ebooks in KU
September 27th 2014:  733,000 ebooks in KU
January 16th 2015:  833,000 ebooks in KU

March 16, 2015: 900,000 ebooks in KU

About 100 days from 1 million.


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## VEVO (Feb 9, 2012)

KOLL/KU Global Fund for July was $2.785 million (average payout $1.80), 31 days of KOLL, 14 days of KU --------1.547 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for August was $4.7 million (average payout $1.54) full month of KOLL and KU--------3.052 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for September was $5 million (average payout $1.52) full month of KOLL and KU-------3.29 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for October was $5.5 million (average payout $1.33) full month of KOLL and KU ---------4.14 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for November was $6.5 million (average payout $1.40) full month of KOLL and KU--------4.64 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for December was $7.25 million (average payout $1.43) full month of KOLL and KU --------5.07 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for January was $8.50 million (average payout $1.3 full month of KOLL and KU -----------6.15 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for February was $8.00 million (average payout $1.41) full month of KOLL and KU ------------5.67 million borrows

At first glance, it looks like KU has its first decline. But is that true?

The rate of borrows *per day* actually INCREASED because February only has 28 days compare to 31 days for January.

6.15 mil borrows / 31 days = 198,000 borrows per day in January
5.67 mil borrows / 28 days = 203,000 borrows per day in February


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## VEVO (Feb 9, 2012)

KOLL/KU Global Fund for July was $2.785 million  (average payout $1.80), 31 days of KOLL, 14 days of KU  --------1.547 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for August was $4.7 million (average payout $1.54) full month of KOLL and KU--------3.052 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for September was $5 million (average payout $1.52) full month of KOLL and KU-------3.29 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for October was $5.5 million (average payout $1.33) full month of KOLL and KU ---------4.14 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for November was $6.5 million (average payout $1.40) full month of KOLL and KU--------4.64 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for December was $7.25 million (average payout $1.43) full month of KOLL and KU --------5.07 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for January was $8.50 million (average payout $1.3 full month of KOLL and KU -----------6.15 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for February was $8.00 million (average payout $1.41) full month of KOLL and KU ------------5.67 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for March was $9.30 million (average payout $1.34) full month of KOLL and KU ---------------6.94 million borrows

At $9.3 million a month x 12 months = $111.6 million a year.


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## VEVO (Feb 9, 2012)

July 18th 2014:  633,000 ebooks in KU
September 27th 2014:  733,000 ebooks in KU
January 16th 2015:  833,000 ebooks in KU
March 16, 2015: 900,000 ebooks in KU
May 11, 2015:  962,495 ebooks in KU

Likely hit 1 million in about 30 days or so.


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## VEVO (Feb 9, 2012)

KOLL/KU Global Fund for July was $2.785 million  (average payout $1.80), 31 days of KOLL, 14 days of KU  --------1.547 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for August was $4.7 million (average payout $1.54) full month of KOLL and KU--------3.052 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for September was $5 million (average payout $1.52) full month of KOLL and KU-------3.29 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for October was $5.5 million (average payout $1.33) full month of KOLL and KU ---------4.14 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for November was $6.5 million (average payout $1.40) full month of KOLL and KU--------4.64 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for December was $7.25 million (average payout $1.43) full month of KOLL and KU --------5.07 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for January was $8.50 million (average payout $1.3 full month of KOLL and KU -----------6.15 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for February was $8.00 million (average payout $1.41) full month of KOLL and KU ------------5.67 million borrows  (28 days February)
KOLL/KU Global Fund for March was $9.30 million (average payout $1.34) full month of KOLL and KU ---------------6.94 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for April was $9.80 million (average payout $1.36) full month of KOLL and KU -----------------7.21 million borrows


$9.8 x 12 months = $117.6 millions


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## dianapersaud (Sep 26, 2013)

How do you know the total number of borrows?

You can't determine it because of the fund amount and payout amount, because that doesn't take into consideration the All star bonuses. I have no idea how many and how much $ is given out for those bonuses. If we had that data, we could possibly figure out the # of borrows.


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## Dolphin (Aug 22, 2013)

dianapersaud said:


> How do you know the total number of borrows?
> 
> You can't determine it because of the fund amount and payout amount, because that doesn't take into consideration the All star bonuses. I have no idea how many and how much $ is given out for those bonuses. If we had that data, we could possibly figure out the # of borrows.


We have those data. So far as I know, however, we don't have any indication that they come out of the Global Fund. Nor do we have any confirmation that they do _not_ come out of the Global Fund. Personally, I doubt that they do, but my idle assumption is worth about as much as another man's nagging, paranoid suspicion.


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## VEVO (Feb 9, 2012)

dianapersaud said:


> How do you know the total number of borrows?
> 
> You can't determine it because of the fund amount and payout amount, because that doesn't take into consideration the All star bonuses. I have no idea how many and how much $ is given out for those bonuses. If we had that data, we could possibly figure out the # of borrows.


Very few people know the actual borrows with 100% certainty. The people in charge of KU are not telling. So the only things we can do it make an educated guess.

KOLL/KU Global Fund for April was $9.80 million (average payout $1.36) full month of KOLL and KU -----------------*7.21 million borrows*

Let's assume the All-Stars bonus is $1 million, it would decrease the # of borrows from 7.21 million to

$8.8 mil / $1.36 = *6.47 million borrows*



> We have those data.


Anyone know what the total All-Stars bonus is for a given month?


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## VEVO (Feb 9, 2012)

Nevermind. I found the answer through a quick google search

https://kdp.amazon.com/help?topicId=A2X66QXB12WV2

DPS Select All-Star bonuses on Amazon.com

Author ranking	
Bonus amount
1-10	$25,000
11-20	$10,000
21-30	$5,000
31-50	$2,500
51-100	$1,000
Title ranking
Bonus amount
1-10	$2,500
11-50	$1,000
51-100	$500

KDPS Select All-Star bonuses on Amazon.co.uk

Author ranking	
Bonus amount
1-10	£2,000
11-20	£1,500
21-30	£750
31-100	£500
Title ranking
Bonus amount
1-10	£500
11-50	£250
51-100	£100

KDPS Select All-Star bonuses on Amazon.de

Author ranking	
Bonus amount
1-10	€ 7,500
11-20	€ 5,000
21-30	€ 3,500
31-50	€ 2,500
51-100	€ 1,500
101-150	€ 500
Title ranking
Bonus amount
1-10	€ 750
11-50	€ 500
51-100	€ 250


----------



## katrina46 (May 23, 2014)

Quiss said:


> I wonder, though, who is coming in, staying, leaving.
> Again and again, I see comments from authors about "throwing in" some shorts or serials. That KU is good for "lowbies" is a no-brainer as long as they get a bigger payout than what they'd get outside KU.
> 
> I still haven't seen any definite view of what authors of higher-priced items are doing and we likely won't see that for a while as people are waiting to see if Amazon will keep topping things up.


Yeah, it definitely depends on what you're writing. I have erotica on other sites, but I have 22 shorts in KU because let's face it, not as many people are going to pay 2.99 for short erotica with so much of it in KU. Really it's the same with my short thrillers, which are only 99 cents, so the payout is probably always going to be better than my royalties would be, but if I did longer works I'd put them wide or only do KU temporarily.


----------



## Rykymus (Dec 3, 2011)

No one has any idea what formula Amazon REALLY uses, nor how much they REALLY put into the fund each month, only what they SAY they did.

Why bother trying to figure it out? You're not going to change anything. Amazon isn't going to follow whatever formula they are currently using if it doesn't work for them. They'll just keep the payout at whatever rate they feel helps them accomplish their goals (whatever those goals may be) and doesn't send all of us running for the life boats. 

Just keep writing and milk KU for all it's worth. If they change it, adapt to what you see, not what you calculate it to be.


----------



## VEVO (Feb 9, 2012)

Rykymus said:


> No one has any idea what formula Amazon REALLY uses, nor how much they REALLY put into the fund each month, only what they SAY they did.


 If Amazon said the Global Fund for April is $9.8 million, you can be certain that is the correct amount. Amazon is a publicly traded company, they would be in trouble if they put out falsely statements.


----------



## VEVO (Feb 9, 2012)

KOLL/KU Global Fund for July was $2.785 million (average payout $1.80), 31 days of KOLL, 14 days of KU --------1.547 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for August was $4.7 million (average payout $1.54) full month of KOLL and KU--------3.052 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for September was $5 million (average payout $1.52) full month of KOLL and KU-------3.29 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for October was $5.5 million (average payout $1.33) full month of KOLL and KU ---------4.14 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for November was $6.5 million (average payout $1.40) full month of KOLL and KU--------4.64 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for December was $7.25 million (average payout $1.43) full month of KOLL and KU --------5.07 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for January was $8.50 million (average payout $1.3 full month of KOLL and KU -----------6.15 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for February was $8.00 million (average payout $1.41) full month of KOLL and KU ------------5.67 million borrows (28 days February)
KOLL/KU Global Fund for March was $9.30 million (average payout $1.34) full month of KOLL and KU ---------------6.94 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for April was $9.80 million (average payout $1.36) full month of KOLL and KU -----------------7.21 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for May was $10.8 million (average payout $1.37) full month of KOLL and KU -----------------7.88 millon borrows

$10.8 mil x 12 months = *$129.6 million*


----------



## VEVO (Feb 9, 2012)

From Amazon:

June will be at least $11 million
July will be in excess of $11 million
August will be in excess of $11 million.

June will also be the last month that have the average borrow rate

Excluding July 2014 which only has 14 days of KU, the payout rate is as followed

August $1.54
Sept $1.52
Oct $1.33
Nov $1.40
Dec $1.43
Jan $1.38
Feb $1.41
March $1.34
April $1.36
May $1.37

With about 8 million borrows, I can make a guess that KU now has around 1,000,000 paying subscribers if each subscriber on average read 8 books a month. Though if each subscriber on average read 8 books a month at $1.35 payout, it means that each subscriber cost Amazon $10.8 a month but only bring in $9.99.

We also know that the average length of each book is:

1.9 billion pages (KENPC) read / 8 million borrows = *237 pages (KENPC) as the average *

If on average, subscribe read 7 books a month (7 borrows x $1.35 = $9.45 payout) then Kindle Unlimited has 8 million borrows / 7 books borrow a month on average per subscriber = *1,143,000 paying subscribers.*


----------



## Eskimo (Dec 31, 2013)

Thank you VEVO. I think you've helped me find a new character for my next book.


----------



## VEVO (Feb 9, 2012)

After a drop off of around 5000 ebooks in the space of a few days, KU catalog is now back in growth mode.

1,023,681 (7.1)
1,021,552 (7.2)
1,018,819 (7/3)
1,019,125 (7/4)
1,019,018 (7/5)
1,018,591 (7/6)
1,019,260 (7/7)
1,020,861 (7/
1,022,593 (7/9)

p.s. Is KU now 5 times bigger than NOOK for indie authors?

http://www.barnesandnobleinc.com/press_releases/6_25_15_2015_FYE_Q4_earnings.html



> Digital content sales were *$40 million for the quarter* and $177 million for the full year, *declining 36.5% and 27.8%*, respectively, due primarily to lower device unit sales.


40 million over 3 months (Feb, March, April) = $13.3 million a month on average.

$13.3 million digital content sales x 65% royalties payout = $8.65 million payout a month.
Let's assume indies get 20% of that payout while other Publishers get 80% (due to higher prices and higher market share).

$8.65 x 20% revenue share = *$1.73 million payout per month* (Feb, March, April)

KOLL/KU



> KOLL/KU Global Fund for February was $8.00 million
> KOLL/KU Global Fund for March was $9.30 million
> KOLL/KU Global Fund for April was $9.80 million


($8M + $9.3M + $9.8M) / 3 = *$9.03M a month * (Feb, March, April)

$9.03M KOLL/KU payout / $1.73M projected NOOK payout to indies = *5.22 times bigger*

For May, June, July the gap will be even greater since KOLL/KU Global Fund payout is increasing while NOOK digital content sales is decreasing.

KOLL/KU Global Fund for May was $10.8 million
KOLL/KU Global Fund for June ? (in excess of $11 mil guaranteed by Amazon)
KOLL/KU Global Fund for July? (in excess of $11 mil guaranteed by Amazon)


----------



## Marilyn Peake (Aug 8, 2011)

This reminds me of how $5 is a good investment for me to make with places like BKnights in order to invest in growing my business ...except in Jeff Bezos's case, he's the 15th richest billionaire right now with a net worth of $39.2 BILLION, according to Forbes: http://www.forbes.com/profile/jeff-bezos/. He can afford to make big investments to grow his business.


----------



## VEVO (Feb 9, 2012)

1,023,681 (7.1)
1,021,552 (7.2)
1,018,819 (7/3)
1,019,125 (7/4)
1,019,018 (7/5)
1,018,591 (7/6)
1,019,260 (7/7)
1,020,861 (7/
1,024,944 (7/9)
.
.
.
1,028,068 (7/13)

It looks like about 3 out of 4 of authors on Kboards like the recent KU change.

PART II has 189 votes:

http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,217741.0.html



> What do you think of the new KU change? (payout per page)
> 
> I like it. It's better than the old flat payout regardless of length 141 (74.2%)
> I don't like it. The old flat payout regardless of length is better49 (25.8%


PART I has 437 votes

http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,216477.0.html



> What do you think of the new KU change? (payout per page)
> I like it. It's better than the old flat payout regardless of length 319 (73%)
> I don't like it. The old flat payout regardless of length is better 118 (27%)


----------



## VEVO (Feb 9, 2012)

From Data Guy

(page count is not KENPC but the Print Length in the Product Details of the ebook)



> Here's the page count distribution of 54,000 Amazon Kindle Best Sellers that were in KU in May 2015, showing:
> -- the % of Best Selling KU Titles with that page count
> -- the % of KU Downloads that they comprise.
> Note the discrepancy between number of listed titles by page length (dark grey bars) and number of actual downloads of titles by page length (blue bars)?
> ...


http://authorearnings.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/ku-bestsellers-by-page-count.png









If my calculation is correct (23.5% + 26% + 7% + 2.5% = 59%) about 59% of the downloads are for books that is at least 200 Print Length pages.

Some other interesting factoids:

Kindle Unlimited also have the second biggest Publisher on the Kindle platform going all in as an exclusive. Their growing catalog will be very valuable in the future as KU gain more subscribers.

http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/66593-amazon-publishing-marches-on.html



> *Belle said that Amazon Publishing is now the second-largest publisher on the Kindle platform in the U.S.* With its strong Kindle presence, it is not surprising that Amazon Publishing sales skew more heavily toward digital than the larger trade houses do (e-books make up 30% of total revenue at a number of these houses). Despite the heavier reliance on e-book sales, however, Amazon Publishing remains committed to publishing print books, according to Belle. "We're encouraged by the strong growth in the business," he said.





> Belle said Amazon Publishing now employs several hundred people and has plans to publish as many as 2,000 titles in 2016.


From October of last year:

http://authorearnings.com/report/october-2014-author-earnings-report-2/












> Indies hold their own when it comes to units moved, making up nearly half (47%) of the KU titles downloaded (borrowed or sold) each day. But this is where Amazon Publishing imprints really show their power, outperforming other publishing types in KU on a per-title basis by a factor of 13, as A-Pub's 2% of Best Selling KU Titles accounts for 26% of downloads. This is a little misleading, however, as A-pub represents far fewer titles, and thus their per-title averages are not brought down by a low-performing long tail. Again, the Big Five Publishers represent 0% of the downloads of KU Titles -- they have no books in KU.


What the total revenue would be like with corresponding subscribers numbers:

1 million subscribers worldwide x $10 x 12 months =* $120 million* a year in revenue 
2 million subscribers worldwide x $10 x 12 months = *$240 million* a year in revenue
3 million subscribers worldwide x $10 x 12 months =* $360 million* a year in revenue
4 million subscribers worldwide x $10 x 12 months = *$480 million* a year in revenue
5 million subscribers worldwide x $10 x 12 months =* $600 million* a year in revenue

Found an interesting chart.



> Source: https://davidgaughran.wordpress.com/2015/05/27/digging-deeper-into-author-earnings/


----------



## VEVO (Feb 9, 2012)

KOLL/KU Global Fund for July was $2.785 million  (average payout $1.80), 31 days of KOLL, 14 days of KU  --------1.547 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for August was $4.7 million (average payout $1.54) full month of KOLL and KU--------3.052 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for September was $5 million (average payout $1.52) full month of KOLL and KU-------3.29 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for October was $5.5 million (average payout $1.33) full month of KOLL and KU ---------4.14 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for November was $6.5 million (average payout $1.40) full month of KOLL and KU--------4.64 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for December was $7.25 million (average payout $1.43) full month of KOLL and KU --------5.07 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for January was $8.50 million (average payout $1.3 full month of KOLL and KU -----------6.15 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for February was $8.00 million (average payout $1.41) full month of KOLL and KU ------------5.67 million borrows  (28 days February)
KOLL/KU Global Fund for March was $9.30 million (average payout $1.34) full month of KOLL and KU ---------------6.94 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for April was $9.80 million (average payout $1.36) full month of KOLL and KU -----------------7.21 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for May was $10.8 million (average payout $1.37) full month of KOLL and KU -----------------7.88 millon borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for June was $11.3 million (average payout $1.35) full month of KOLL and KU-----------------8.37 million borrows


----------



## VEVO (Feb 9, 2012)

Lot of data about subscription service from Marie Force's Reader Survey

http://blog.marieforce.com/the-results-are-in-2015-reader-survey/



> The survey was conducted from May 6 to June 6, 2015 via
> Survey Monkey. The number of survey respondents more than doubled between 2013 and 2015, from
> 2,951 to 5,990. Readers were notified of the survey by authors via social media platforms and newsletter
> notifications.





> Answer Choices
> 
> I don't subscribe to any reader services 81.82% 4,900
> Scribd 1.99% 119
> ...





> If you subscribe to one or all of the above services, do you still buy books you can't get through subscription?
> Answered: 2,002 Skipped: 3,988
> 
> Responses
> ...





> If you subscribe to one or all of the above services, do you buy fewer books than you did before you subscribed?
> 
> Yes 20.14% 391
> No 79.86% 1,550
> Total	1,941


https://www.surveymonkey.com/results/SM-MX3ZCQYY/
What do you see as the major reason or benefit to subscribing to one of the book services?
Answered: 1,738

Might be worth a quick read since there are a lot of responses.

Just a random copy and paste of some of those responses:



> 6/2/2015 11:54 AM
> Introduction to new authors - opportunity to try new authors and books for free.
> 6/2/2015 11:43 AM
> If you're a speed reader and can read 2-3 books a day, then I could see where these services would be beneficial, otherwise not so much.
> ...


Over 1000 responses


----------



## vlmain (Aug 10, 2011)

Great information from the survey. Very enlightening. Thanks for posting that.


----------



## VEVO (Feb 9, 2012)

With the new rate coming out on Monday, here's a look at the total books on KU since the "change."  

1,023,681 (7.1)
1,021,552 (7.2)
1,018,819 (7/3)
1,019,125 (7/4)
1,019,018 (7/5)
1,018,591 (7/6)
1,019,260 (7/7)
1,020,861 (7/
1,024,944 (7/9)
.
.
1,028,068 (7/13)
1,029,178 (7/14)
1,030,518 (7/15)
1,031,409 (7/16)
1,032,743 (7/17)
1,033,785 (7/1
1,037,417 (7/22)
1,040,148 (7/24)
1,042,150 (7/26)
1,044,336 (7/27)
1,045,212 (7/2
1,051,346 (8/01)
1,058,532 (8/9)
1,061,687 (8/12)
1,063,453 (8/14)


----------



## edwardgtalbot (Apr 28, 2010)

Really appreciate you posting all this data!


----------



## VEVO (Feb 9, 2012)

KOLL/KU Global Fund for July was $2.785 million (average payout $1.80), 31 days of KOLL, 14 days of KU --------1.547 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for August was $4.7 million (average payout $1.54) full month of KOLL and KU--------3.052 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for September was $5 million (average payout $1.52) full month of KOLL and KU-------3.29 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for October was $5.5 million (average payout $1.33) full month of KOLL and KU ---------4.14 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for November was $6.5 million (average payout $1.40) full month of KOLL and KU--------4.64 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for December was $7.25 million (average payout $1.43) full month of KOLL and KU --------5.07 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for January was $8.50 million (average payout $1.3 full month of KOLL and KU -----------6.15 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for February was $8.00 million (average payout $1.41) full month of KOLL and KU ------------5.67 million borrows (28 days February)
KOLL/KU Global Fund for March was $9.30 million (average payout $1.34) full month of KOLL and KU ---------------6.94 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for April was $9.80 million (average payout $1.36) full month of KOLL and KU -----------------7.21 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for May was $10.8 million (average payout $1.37) full month of KOLL and KU -----------------7.88 millon borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for June was $11.3 million (average payout $1.35) full month of KOLL and KU-----------------8.37 million borrows

KOLL/KU Global Fund for July was $11.5 million (average payout per KENP is $0.005779)---------------------------1,989,963,661 pages (KENP) read.

Is KU payout to KDP Select Authors now 40% bigger than Nook payout to all publishers?

Actual amount for May, June, July



> KOLL/KU Global Fund for May was *$10.8 million* (average payout $1.37) full month of KOLL and KU -----------------7.88 millon borrows
> KOLL/KU Global Fund for June was *$11.3 million* (average payout $1.35) full month of KOLL and KU-----------------8.37 million borrows
> 
> KOLL/KU Global Fund for July was *$11.5 million* (average payout per KENP is $0.005779)---------------------------1,989,963,661 pages (KENP) read.


($10.8M + $11.3M + $11.5M) / 3 = *$11.2M on average *

NOOK payout per month to all publishers for Feb March April was $8.65M. If this decrease to $8M a month for May, June, July then

($11.2M KU payout - $8M Nook payout) / $8M x 100% = 40% bigger

With Google doing a poor job selling ebooks, Nook struggling, Amazon biggest ebook competitor is Apple. As long as Apple offers 70% royalties for ebooks, Amazon will be pressured to maintain this 70% royalties for fear of losing market share. At least that is how competition work.

Maybe Ebay could jump into the ebook selling market. 30% commission is a lot higher than the typical commission Ebay get. With ebook reading moving to smartphone and tablet, Ebay just need an Ebay Ebook App. Many readers are familiar with Ebay and Paypal.

p.s. As a standalone unit, I don't think KU will ever be profitable in the near future. It is a loss leader for Amazon. Readers who are paying $10 a month are getting their money worth and more. If not, cancelling is easy.

As Scribd demonstrated, subscription service tends to attract readers who read many books a month. Which make it nearly impossible to be profitable. For Amazon, KU doesn't need to be profitable. It just need KU subscribers to be more "sticky" to Amazon website. For a loss leader, that is mission accomplished.


----------



## VEVO (Feb 9, 2012)

There is now confirmation that KDP All-Stars is now based on PAGES READ ONLY (starting from July 2015)

https://kdp.amazon.com/help?topicId=A2X66QXB12WV2



> KDP Select All-Stars
> If you enroll your book in KDP Select, it's automatically enrolled in Kindle Unlimited (KU) and the Kindle Owners' Lending Library (KOLL). The KDP Select books and authors that are read the most each month become KDP Select All-Stars. We spotlight each All-Star author and title on each book's detail page, and KDP Select All-Stars also earn financial bonuses. Anyone with titles in KDPS-even a brand-new author-is eligible.
> 
> We'll award All-Star bonuses to authors and titles based on total KU and KOLL pages read for the first time by KU and KOLL customers during the month. We notify the awarded authors via email.


and this is the email



> Hello,
> 
> Congratulations! You have qualified for a KDP Select All-Star bonus for the month of July.
> 
> ...


----------



## VEVO (Feb 9, 2012)

KDP Select All-Stars Bonuses

Amazon US



> Author ranking Bonus amount
> 1-10	$25,000
> 11-20	$10,000
> 21-30	$5,000
> ...


= $500,000



> Title ranking Bonus amount
> 1-10	$2,500
> 11-50	$1,000
> 51-100	$500


= $90,000

Amazon UK



> Author ranking Bonus amount
> 1-10	£2,000
> 11-20	£1,500
> 21-30	£750
> 31-100	£500


= £77,500



> Title ranking Bonus amount
> 1-10	£500
> 11-50	£250
> 51-100	£100


= £20,000

Amazon Germany



> Author ranking
> Bonus amount
> 1-10	€ 7,500
> 11-20	€ 5,000
> ...


= euro 310,000



> Title ranking
> Bonus amount
> 1-10	€ 750
> 11-50	€ 500
> 51-100	€ 250


= euro 40,000

Illustrated Kids' Book bonuses US



> Title ranking
> Bonus amount
> 1-5	$1,000
> 6-10	$750
> ...


= $31,250



> Illustrated Kids' Book bonuses
> 
> Title ranking
> Bonus amount
> 1-25	£100


=£ 2500

Add them all up at the current exchange rate, it's $1,164,000 a month in KDP All-Stars bonuses.


----------



## VEVO (Feb 9, 2012)

some articles on Kindle Unlimited that might be worth a read

http://yourcheekywench.com/2015/08/22/kindle-unlimited-2/
Susan Tisdale on Kindle Unlimited 2.0

http://thisblogisaploy.blogspot.com/2015/08/lets-talk-numbers-its-official-if-you.html
Let's Talk Numbers: It's official! If you write novels, the new KU is AWESOME!

http://www.hughhowey.com/kindle-unlimited-knockout/
Kindle Unlimited Scores a Knockout

http://jakonrath.blogspot.com/2015/08/konrath-kindle-unlimited-numbers.html
Joe Konrath on Kindle Unlimited 2.0


----------



## VEVO (Feb 9, 2012)

http://www.barnesandnobleinc.com/press_releases/9_9_15_bn_2016_q1_financial_results.html

For the 3 months of May, June, July 2015



> NOOK
> The NOOK segment (including digital content, devices and accessories) had revenues of $54 million for the quarter, decreasing 22.4% from a year ago. For the quarter,* digital content sales declined 28.0% to $37 million* and device and accessories sales declined 6.2% to $17 million.


$37 million digital content sales x 65% = $24.05 million 
$24.05M / 3 months = $8.02 million payout each month on average

KU payout to self-publishers is now 58% bigger than Nook payout to all publishers. KU is growing. Nook is shrinking. The gap will continue to widen month by month.

*Nook payout to all publishers*

Feb $8.6 mil
March $8.6 mil
April $8.6 mil

May $8 mil
June $8 mil
July $8 mil

*KU payout to KDP Select authors*

Feb $8 mil (+ $1.1 mil in All-Star bonuses)
March $9.3 mil (+ $1.1 mil in All-Stars bonuses)
April $9.8 mil (+ $1.1 mil in All-Star bonuses)

May $10.8 (+ $1.1 mil in All-Star bonuses)
June $11.3 (+ $1.1 mil in All-Star bonuses)
July $11.5 (+ $1.1 mil in All-Star bonuses)


----------



## VEVO (Feb 9, 2012)

*2014*

KOLL/KU Global Fund for July was $2.785 million (average payout $1.80), 31 days of KOLL, 14 days of KU --------1.547 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for August was $4.7 million (average payout $1.54) full month of KOLL and KU--------3.052 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for September was $5 million (average payout $1.52) full month of KOLL and KU-------3.29 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for October was $5.5 million (average payout $1.33) full month of KOLL and KU ---------4.14 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for November was $6.5 million (average payout $1.40) full month of KOLL and KU--------4.64 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for December was $7.25 million (average payout $1.43) full month of KOLL and KU --------5.07 million borrows

*2015*

KOLL/KU Global Fund for January was $8.50 million (average payout $1.3 full month of KOLL and KU -----------6.15 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for February was $8.00 million (average payout $1.41) full month of KOLL and KU ------------5.67 million borrows (28 days February)
KOLL/KU Global Fund for March was $9.30 million (average payout $1.34) full month of KOLL and KU ---------------6.94 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for April was $9.80 million (average payout $1.36) full month of KOLL and KU -----------------7.21 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for May was $10.8 million (average payout $1.37) full month of KOLL and KU -----------------7.88 millon borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for June was $11.3 million (average payout $1.35) full month of KOLL and KU-----------------8.37 million borrows

KOLL/KU Global Fund for July was $11.5 million (average payout per KENP is $0.005779)---------------------------1,989,963,661 pages (KENP) read
KOLL/KU Global Fund for August was $11.8 million(average payout per KENP is $0.00514)--------------------------2,295,719,844 pages (KENP) read


----------



## VEVO (Feb 9, 2012)

January: $8.5M
Feb: $8M
March: $9.3M
April: $9.8M
May: $10.8M
June: $11.3M
July: $11.5M
August: $11.8M

= $81M

Conservative prediction

Sept: $12.1M
Oct: $12.4M
Nov: $12.7M
Dec: $13.0M

= *$131.2M*

The monthly KDP Select All-Stars bonus is $1,164,000. Yearly = *$14M*

Conservative estimate of KU/KOLL payout to KDP Select Authors in 2015 is $131.2M + $14M in bonuses = *$145.2M*

There are 3 major components of books for KU:

1) KDP Select authors (indie authors)
2) Small-Medium Publishers who license their books
3) Amazon Publishing imprints










No one know the exact breakdown except for Amazon and they are not telling.

But what if half of the payout to Kindle Unlimited is for KDP Select authors and the other half is for Amazon Publishing/small-medium publishers.

Payout to KDP Select authors in 2015: *$145 million*
Payout to Amazon Publishing / small-medium publishers: *$145 million *

= *Total payout of $290 million in 2015.*

$290 million payout each year is a lot of money and it means that KU is very popular with readers.

That is a conservative estimate since Amazon is paying small/medium publishers full royalties. Source: Kensington CEO

http://www.idealog.com/blog/what-oyster-going-down-demonstrates-is-not-mostly-about-the-viability-of-ebook-subscriptions/#disqus_thread

from Steven Zacharius, Kensington CEO



> KU is going to end up being only Amazon published titles or indie published books. So I don't think you can claim that it's built on sustainability.* I know that many of our most popular books in KU are being removed because they were too expensive for them to be kept in KU when they had to pay publishers a full royalty.* I would never be able to explain to an author or be able to calculate royalties due to an author if they weren't receiving the full amount normally due. It's a shame because I do think that the program did allow readers to experiment with many authors that they may have not read before. I also didn't see those sales cannibalizing the traditional purchase of the same title. Both were doing quite well. Romance is a very difficult category to have in a subscription service as I explained to Amazon, Scribd and Oyster when they all started.





> GalleryP, the payment pool that you are mentioning is only for self-published writers and not books from traditional publishers. *Traditional publishers were paid full royalties from the subscription services otherwise they wouldn't agree to make their books available. It was the marquee authors that were initially the draw to get people to join these services.* As a publisher that publishes about 70% of books geared toward women's fiction readers, I told all of the subscription services that this was not a viable business model because most women who read these types of books are voracious readers. This of course turned out to be the case. The model will probably continue to work for other books although I doubt mysteries will work very well either.


When asked if KU is removing trad books:



> *Not all books yet, but a lot of the more popular titles that were being downloaded heavily.* Can't say I blame them one bit.


Tracking KU

1,023,681 (7.1)
1,021,552 (7.2)
1,018,591 (7/6)
1,024,944 (7/9)
1,028,068 (7/13)
1,033,785 (7/1
1,037,417 (7/22)
1,045,212 (7/2
1,051,346 (8/01)
1,058,532 (8/9)
1,061,687 (8/12)
1,065,063 (8/16)
1,075,359 (8/25)
1,078,910 (8/2
1,084,541 (8/31)
1,090,246 (9/6)
1,102,760 (9/21)
1,105,993 (9/24)
1,113,454 (10/6)

Increasing at a rate of 939 books per day during the last 2 months.

From popular fantasy indie author Lindsay Buroker
http://www.lindsayburoker.com/amazon-kindle-sales/go-wide-or-exclusive-with-amazon-for-kdp-select/
*Should You Go Wide or Join KDP Select/Kindle Unlimited?*


----------



## VEVO (Feb 9, 2012)

2014

KOLL/KU Global Fund for July was $2.785 million  (average payout $1.80), 31 days of KOLL, 14 days of KU  --------1.547 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for August was $4.7 million (average payout $1.54) full month of KOLL and KU--------3.052 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for September was $5 million (average payout $1.52) full month of KOLL and KU-------3.29 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for October was $5.5 million (average payout $1.33) full month of KOLL and KU ---------4.14 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for November was $6.5 million (average payout $1.40) full month of KOLL and KU--------4.64 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for December was $7.25 million (average payout $1.43) full month of KOLL and KU --------5.07 million borrows

2015

KOLL/KU Global Fund for January was $8.50 million (average payout $1.3 full month of KOLL and KU -----------6.15 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for February was $8.00 million (average payout $1.41) full month of KOLL and KU ------------5.67 million borrows  (28 days February)
KOLL/KU Global Fund for March was $9.30 million (average payout $1.34) full month of KOLL and KU ---------------6.94 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for April was $9.80 million (average payout $1.36) full month of KOLL and KU -----------------7.21 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for May was $10.8 million (average payout $1.37) full month of KOLL and KU -----------------7.88 millon borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for June was $11.3 million (average payout $1.35) full month of KOLL and KU-----------------8.37 million borrows

KOLL/KU Global Fund for July was $11.5 million (average payout per KENP is $0.005779)---------------------------1,989,963,661 pages (KENP) read
KOLL/KU Global Fund for August was $11.8 million(average payout per KENP is $0.00514)--------------------------2,295,719,844 pages (KENP) read
KOLL/KU Global Fund for September was $12.0 million (average payout per KENPC is $0.00507)--------------------2,366,863,909 pages (KENP) read


----------



## VEVO (Feb 9, 2012)

2014

KOLL/KU Global Fund for July was $2.785 million  (average payout $1.80), 31 days of KOLL, 14 days of KU  --------1.547 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for August was $4.7 million (average payout $1.54) full month of KOLL and KU--------3.052 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for September was $5 million (average payout $1.52) full month of KOLL and KU-------3.29 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for October was $5.5 million (average payout $1.33) full month of KOLL and KU ---------4.14 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for November was $6.5 million (average payout $1.40) full month of KOLL and KU--------4.64 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for December was $7.25 million (average payout $1.43) full month of KOLL and KU --------5.07 million borrows

2015

KOLL/KU Global Fund for January was $8.50 million (average payout $1.3 full month of KOLL and KU -----------6.15 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for February was $8.00 million (average payout $1.41) full month of KOLL and KU ------------5.67 million borrows  (28 days February)
KOLL/KU Global Fund for March was $9.30 million (average payout $1.34) full month of KOLL and KU ---------------6.94 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for April was $9.80 million (average payout $1.36) full month of KOLL and KU -----------------7.21 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for May was $10.8 million (average payout $1.37) full month of KOLL and KU -----------------7.88 millon borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for June was $11.3 million (average payout $1.35) full month of KOLL and KU-----------------8.37 million borrows

KOLL/KU Global Fund for July was $11.5 million (average payout per KENP is $0.005779)---------------------------1,989,963,661 pages (KENP) read
KOLL/KU Global Fund for August was $11.8 million(average payout per KENP is $0.00514)--------------------------2,295,719,844 pages (KENP) read
KOLL/KU Global Fund for September was $12.0 million (average payout per KENPC is $0.00507)--------------------2,366,863,909 pages (KENP) read
KOLL/KU Global Fund for October was $12.4 million (average payout per KENPC is $0.004809) ---------------------2,578,498,648 pages (KENP) read


----------



## PhoenixS (Apr 5, 2011)

*************


----------



## VEVO (Feb 9, 2012)

Tracking KU

1,023,681 (7.1)
1,021,552 (7.2)
1,018,591 (7/6)
1,024,944 (7/9)
1,028,068 (7/13)
1,033,785 (7/1
1,037,417 (7/22)
1,045,212 (7/2
1,051,346 (8/01)
1,058,532 (8/9)
1,061,687 (8/12)
1,065,063 (8/16)
1,075,359 (8/25)
1,078,910 (8/2
1,084,541 (8/31)
1,090,246 (9/6)
1,102,760  (9/21)
1,105,993  (9/24)
1,122,656  (10/1
1,150,239 (11/24)

2015 payout to self-publishers will be at $145 million (counting All-Stars bonuses) if November payout is $12.7 million and December at $13.1 million.


Payout for 2016 to self-publishers from KU could reach as high as $200 million in the year 2016 (counting All-Stars bonuses).  

All-Star bonuses of $1.164 million a month x 12 months = $14 million a year
To reach $200 million:  

$200 million - $14M bonuses = $186M 
$186M / 12 months = $15.5M on average for each month of 2016.


----------



## VEVO (Feb 9, 2012)

Info is a bit dated but let's just assuming the following:

KDP Select (indies) is 50% of the KU read
Amazon Publishing is 30% of the KU read
Small/medium Publishers that license to KU is 20% of the KU read

So if indies payout is $200 million for 2016, other publishers will likely get at least $200 million in payout also, especially since small/medium publishers are paid with full royalties.

Steven Zacharius, Kensington CEO confirmed that Kensington titles are paid full royalties in Kindle Unlimited.
http://www.idealog.com/blog/what-oyster-going-down-demonstrates-is-not-mostly-about-the-viability-of-ebook-subscriptions/#disqus_thread



> GalleryP, the payment pool that you are mentioning is only for self-published writers and not books from traditional publishers. *Traditional publishers were paid full royalties from the subscription services* otherwise they wouldn't agree to make their books available.


----------



## Amanda M. Lee (Jun 3, 2014)

Trade publishers aren't paid out of the global fund. I believe I read -- and someone correct me if I'm wrong -- that Amazon imprints aren't paid out of the global fund either.


----------



## VEVO (Feb 9, 2012)

Amanda M. Lee said:


> Trade publishers aren't paid out of the global fund. I believe I read -- and someone correct me if I'm wrong -- that Amazon imprints aren't paid out of the global fund either.


The Global Fund is for KDP Select authors only. Amazon Publishing authors are not KDP Select authors. If they are, they would be eligible for KDP Select All-Stars bonuses.

Confirmation that the Global Fund is for KDP Select authors only.

per Amazon:
https://kdp.amazon.com/community/ann.jspa?annID=869



> Hello,
> 
> The KDP Select global fund will be at least $12M in November.Through November, we will have paid out more than $120 million to *KDP Select authors *over the last 12 months for their Kindle Unlimited (KU) participation.


also per Kensington CEO



> GalleryP,* the payment pool that you are mentioning is only for self-published writers* and not books from traditional publishers. Traditional publishers were paid full royalties from the subscription services otherwise they wouldn't agree to make their books available.


If in the year 2016, KDP Select authors payout is $200 million, it is very likely that Amazon Publishing / small-medium publishers payout will be just as big if not bigger since they are paid in full royalties.

KDP Select authors in 2016: $200M payout
other publishers in 2016: $200M payout

= $400M payout total

What is impressive is that KU was just launched about 16 months ago. It is at the very early stage of its life.


----------



## VEVO (Feb 9, 2012)

This might be of interest.

http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=267886
Are you a paying subscriber to Kindle Unlimited/Scribd/Oyster?

Yes, Kindle Unlimited 13	18.06%
Yes, Scribd 6	8.33%
Yes, Oyster 0	0%
No 54	75.00%


----------



## VEVO (Feb 9, 2012)

http://www.barnesandnobleinc.com/for_investors/for_investors.html



> fiscal 2016 first quarter ended August 1, 2015
> 
> NOOK
> The NOOK segment (including digital content, devices and accessories) had revenues of $54 million for the quarter, decreasing 22.4% from a year ago. For the quarter, digital content sales declined 28.0% to $37 million and device and accessories sales declined 6.2% to $17 million.
> ...


Kindle Unlimited payout to all publishers is now 4 times greater than Nook payout to all publishers (my estimation).

$43.5 million revenue (all) x 68% content sales = $29.58 mil content sales
$29.58 mil content sales x 65% royalties = $19.23 million, divide by 3 months = *$6.4 million payout each month*

Kindle Unlimited payout right now is at about $25 million a month to all publishers.


----------



## VEVO (Feb 9, 2012)

Tracking KU

1,023,681 (7.1)
1,021,552 (7.2)
1,018,591 (7/6)
1,024,944 (7/9)
1,028,068 (7/13)
1,033,785 (7/1
1,037,417 (7/22)
1,045,212 (7/2
1,051,346 (8/01)
1,058,532 (8/9)
1,061,687 (8/12)
1,065,063 (8/16)
1,075,359 (8/25)
1,078,910 (8/2
1,084,541 (8/31)
1,090,246 (9/6)
1,102,760  (9/21)
1,105,993  (9/24)
1,122,656  (10/1
1,150,239 (11/24)
1,169,763 (12/12)


----------



## booklover888 (May 20, 2012)

VEVO said:


> This might be of interest.
> 
> http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=267886
> Are you a paying subscriber to Kindle Unlimited/Scribd/Oyster?
> ...


I answered NO to that poll before Amazon had a sale on KU. Now I have a 1 year subscription to KU.


----------



## VEVO (Feb 9, 2012)

*2014*

KOLL/KU Global Fund for July was $2.785 million (average payout $1.80), 31 days of KOLL, 14 days of KU --------1.547 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for August was $4.7 million (average payout $1.54) full month of KOLL and KU--------3.052 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for September was $5 million (average payout $1.52) full month of KOLL and KU-------3.29 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for October was $5.5 million (average payout $1.33) full month of KOLL and KU ---------4.14 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for November was $6.5 million (average payout $1.40) full month of KOLL and KU--------4.64 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for December was $7.25 million (average payout $1.43) full month of KOLL and KU --------5.07 million borrows

*2015*

KOLL/KU Global Fund for January was $8.50 million (average payout $1.3 full month of KOLL and KU -----------6.15 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for February was $8.00 million (average payout $1.41) full month of KOLL and KU ------------5.67 million borrows (28 days February)
KOLL/KU Global Fund for March was $9.30 million (average payout $1.34) full month of KOLL and KU ---------------6.94 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for April was $9.80 million (average payout $1.36) full month of KOLL and KU -----------------7.21 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for May was $10.8 million (average payout $1.37) full month of KOLL and KU -----------------7.88 millon borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for June was $11.3 million (average payout $1.35) full month of KOLL and KU-----------------8.37 million borrows

KOLL/KU Global Fund for July was $11.5 million (average payout per KENP is $0.005779)---------------------------1,989,963,661 pages (KENP) read
KOLL/KU Global Fund for August was $11.8 million(average payout per KENP is $0.00514)--------------------------2,295,719,844 pages (KENP) read
KOLL/KU Global Fund for September was $12.0 million (average payout per KENPC is $0.00507)--------------------2,366,863,909 pages (KENP) read
KOLL/KU Global Fund for October was $12.4 million (average payout per KENPC is $0.004809) ---------------------2,578,498,648 pages (KENP) read
KOLL/KU Global Fund for November was $12.7 million (average payout per KENPC is $0.00492) --------------------2,581,300,813 pages (KENP) read

Since some months have 30 days and some have 31 days, breaking total KENPC by each day give this result:

July: 64,192,000 a day
August: 74,055,000 a day
Sept: 78,895,000 a day
Oct: 83,177,000 a day
Nov: 86,043,000 day


----------



## VEVO (Feb 9, 2012)

http://blog.smashwords.com/2015/12/2016-book-publishing-predictions.html
*2016 Book Publishing Industry Predictions*

A lot of thoughts about KU in that industry predictions


----------



## VEVO (Feb 9, 2012)

http://www.kboards.com/index.php?topic=228796
What's the barrier of entry for the top-end all star bonuses these days?

Just want to save that thread since it contains some relevant info.

Tracking KU

1,023,681 (7.1)
1,021,552 (7.2)
1,018,591 (7/6)
1,024,944 (7/9)
1,028,068 (7/13)
1,033,785 (7/1
1,037,417 (7/22)
1,045,212 (7/2
1,051,346 (8/01)
1,058,532 (8/9)
1,061,687 (8/12)
1,065,063 (8/16)
1,075,359 (8/25)
1,078,910 (8/2
1,084,541 (8/31)
1,090,246 (9/6)
1,102,760 (9/21)
1,105,993 (9/24)
1,122,656 (10/1
1,150,239 (11/24)
1,169,763 (12/12)
1,176,438 (12/19)
1,185,388 (12/25)
1,190,407 (1/1)
1,194,005 (1/9)


----------



## VEVO (Feb 9, 2012)

2014

KOLL/KU Global Fund for July was $2.785 million  (average payout $1.80), 31 days of KOLL, 14 days of KU  --------1.547 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for August was $4.7 million (average payout $1.54) full month of KOLL and KU--------3.052 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for September was $5 million (average payout $1.52) full month of KOLL and KU-------3.29 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for October was $5.5 million (average payout $1.33) full month of KOLL and KU ---------4.14 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for November was $6.5 million (average payout $1.40) full month of KOLL and KU--------4.64 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for December was $7.25 million (average payout $1.43) full month of KOLL and KU --------5.07 million borrows

2015

KOLL/KU Global Fund for January was $8.50 million (average payout $1.3 full month of KOLL and KU -----------6.15 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for February was $8.00 million (average payout $1.41) full month of KOLL and KU ------------5.67 million borrows  (28 days February)
KOLL/KU Global Fund for March was $9.30 million (average payout $1.34) full month of KOLL and KU ---------------6.94 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for April was $9.80 million (average payout $1.36) full month of KOLL and KU -----------------7.21 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for May was $10.8 million (average payout $1.37) full month of KOLL and KU -----------------7.88 millon borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for June was $11.3 million (average payout $1.35) full month of KOLL and KU-----------------8.37 million borrows

KOLL/KU Global Fund for July was $11.5 million (average payout per KENP is $0.005779)---------------------------1,989,963,661 pages (KENP) read
KOLL/KU Global Fund for August was $11.8 million(average payout per KENP is $0.00514)--------------------------2,295,719,844 pages (KENP) read
KOLL/KU Global Fund for September was $12.0 million (average payout per KENPC is $0.00507)--------------------2,366,863,909 pages (KENP) read
KOLL/KU Global Fund for October was $12.4 million (average payout per KENPC is $0.004809) ---------------------2,578,498,648 pages (KENP) read
KOLL/KU Global Fund for November was $12.7 million (average payout per KENPC is $0.00492) --------------------2,581,300,813 pages (KENP) read
KOLL/KU Global Fund for December was $13.5 million (average payout per KENPC is $0.00461) --------------------2,928,416485 pages (KENP) read


----------



## VEVO (Feb 9, 2012)

2015 payout: $131.6 million
2015 All-Stars bonuses: $14 million

*Total payout: $145.6 million*

Is $200 million for 2016 doable?


----------



## VEVO (Feb 9, 2012)

Tracking KU

1,023,681 (7.1)
1,021,552 (7.2)
1,018,591 (7/6)
1,024,944 (7/9)
1,028,068 (7/13)
1,033,785 (7/1
1,037,417 (7/22)
1,045,212 (7/2
1,051,346 (8/01)
1,058,532 (8/9)
1,061,687 (8/12)
1,065,063 (8/16)
1,075,359 (8/25)
1,078,910 (8/2
1,084,541 (8/31)
1,090,246 (9/6)
1,102,760  (9/21)
1,105,993  (9/24)
1,122,656  (10/1
1,150,239 (11/24)
1,169,763 (12/12)
1,176,438  (12/19)
1,185,388  (12/25)
1,190,407  (1/1)
1,194,005  (1/9)
1,200,694  (1/17)
1,207,670  (1/25)
1,214,181  (1/30)
1,218,955  (2/2)


----------



## VEVO (Feb 9, 2012)

For those that want to look at the current Kindle Unlimited All-Stars Books and Authors, here's the page:

http://www.amazon.com/b/ref=amb_link_455457422_2?ie=UTF8&node=11085390011

*1-16 of 2,691 results for Kindle Unlimited All-Stars*


----------



## VEVO (Feb 9, 2012)

http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showpost.php?p=3256393&postcount=3

36.37% of the top 100,000 bestsellers enrolled in KU
50.04% of the top 10,000 bestsellers enrolled in KU
53.14% of the top 5,000 bestsellers enrolled in KU
55.05% of the top 1,000 bestsellers enrolled in KU
55.60% of the top 250 bestsellers enrolled in KU
57.00% of the top 100 bestsellers enrolled in KU
70.00% of the top 10 bestsellers enrolled in KU

http://authorearnings.com/report/february-2016-author-earnings-report/



> So how many ebooks a day is Amazon.com actually selling?
> As of mid-January 2016, Amazon's US ebook sales were running at a rate of 1,064,000 paid downloads a day.
> 
> 155,000 of these paid daily downloads - or 14% of them - took the form of Kindle Unlimited "full-KENPC" pages-read equivalents for self-published indie authors, while the remaining 909,000 were regular retail ebook purchases. The full breakdown:
> ...


----------



## VEVO (Feb 9, 2012)

2014

KOLL/KU Global Fund for July was $2.785 million  (average payout $1.80), 31 days of KOLL, 14 days of KU  --------1.547 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for August was $4.7 million (average payout $1.54) full month of KOLL and KU--------3.052 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for September was $5 million (average payout $1.52) full month of KOLL and KU-------3.29 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for October was $5.5 million (average payout $1.33) full month of KOLL and KU ---------4.14 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for November was $6.5 million (average payout $1.40) full month of KOLL and KU--------4.64 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for December was $7.25 million (average payout $1.43) full month of KOLL and KU --------5.07 million borrows

2015

KOLL/KU Global Fund for January was $8.50 million (average payout $1.3 full month of KOLL and KU -----------6.15 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for February was $8.00 million (average payout $1.41) full month of KOLL and KU ------------5.67 million borrows  (28 days February)
KOLL/KU Global Fund for March was $9.30 million (average payout $1.34) full month of KOLL and KU ---------------6.94 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for April was $9.80 million (average payout $1.36) full month of KOLL and KU -----------------7.21 million borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for May was $10.8 million (average payout $1.37) full month of KOLL and KU -----------------7.88 millon borrows
KOLL/KU Global Fund for June was $11.3 million (average payout $1.35) full month of KOLL and KU-----------------8.37 million borrows

KOLL/KU Global Fund for July was $11.5 million (average payout per KENP is $0.005779)---------------------------1,989,963,661 pages (KENP) read
KOLL/KU Global Fund for August was $11.8 million(average payout per KENP is $0.00514)--------------------------2,295,719,844 pages (KENP) read
KOLL/KU Global Fund for September was $12.0 million (average payout per KENPC is $0.00507)--------------------2,366,863,909 pages (KENP) read
KOLL/KU Global Fund for October was $12.4 million (average payout per KENPC is $0.004809) ---------------------2,578,498,648 pages (KENP) read
KOLL/KU Global Fund for November was $12.7 million (average payout per KENPC is $0.00492) --------------------2,581,300,813 pages (KENP) read
KOLL/KU Global Fund for December was $13.5 million (average payout per KENPC is $0.00461) --------------------2,928,416485 pages (KENP) read

2016

KOLL/KU Global Fund for January was $15.0 million (average payout per KENPC is $0.00411)-----------------------3,649,635,036 pages (KENP) read


----------



## VEVO (Feb 9, 2012)

I'm going to revise the $400 million payout to $450 million.

$225 million payout to indies
$225 million payout to small/medium publishers and Amazon Publishing

= $450 million

To reach $225 million for indies, it would take $225mil - $14 mil All-Star bonuses = $211 million. $211 million / 12 months = $17.58 million a month on average.

January 2016 is already at $15 million.

KU payout to self-publishers by year



> 2014: $31.75 million (KU started in July 2014)
> 2015: $145.6 million (including $14 million in All-Star bonuses)
> 2016: ~$225 million (including $14 million in All-Star bonuses) (my prediction)


I would love to see Apple and Google launch their own ebook subscription service. Most indies who are not exclusive to KU will likely enroll.


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## VEVO (Feb 9, 2012)

Kindle Unlimited gift card. Interesting. It's a trial run on 61 Bartell Drugs stores near Seattle.

$29.99 for 3 months but only $49.99 for 6 months.

http://www.geekwire.com/2016/amazons-other-physical-retail-test-testing-the-kindle-e-book-kiosk-at-the-local-drug-store/





















> The card promises that you'll always get "the lowest online price, plus the balance." For example, I purchased a card for "The Martian" for $14.99 at the store, but the price online was $8.99, and when I redeemed the book, the difference was automatically added to my gift card balance.


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## VEVO (Feb 9, 2012)

Tracking KU

1,023,681 (7.1)
1,021,552 (7.2)
1,018,591 (7/6)
1,024,944 (7/9)
1,028,068 (7/13)
1,033,785 (7/1
1,037,417 (7/22)
1,045,212 (7/2 ----------*815 books per day from 7/1 to 7/28*

1,051,346 (8/01)
1,058,532 (8/9)
1,061,687 (8/12)
1,065,063 (8/16)
1,075,359 (8/25)
1,078,910 (8/2
1,084,541 (8/31) ------------*1100 books per day from 8/1 to 8/31*

1,090,246 (9/6)
1,102,760 (9/21)
1,105,993 (9/24)
1,122,656 (10/1 -------------*762 books per day from 9/6 to 10/18*

1,150,239 (11/24)
1,169,763 (12/12)
1,176,438 (12/19)
1,185,388 (12/25) --------*1129 books per day from 11/24 to 12/25*

1,190,407 (1/1)
1,194,005 (1/9)
1,200,694 (1/17)
1,207,670 (1/25)
1,214,181 (1/30) ----*-827 books per day from 1/1 to 1/30
*

1,218,955 (2/2)
1,225,593 (2/6)
1,249,178 (2/17)
1,254,425 (2/21)
1,264,413 (2/27) -----*1840 books per day from 2/2 to 2/27*

1,281,791 (2/11) --------*1545 books per day from 2/27 to 3/11*


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## VEVO (Feb 9, 2012)

You can tell when the "scams" took off.

Typical: 1000 books added per day to KU
Not typical: up to 1840 books added per day to KU on average for the month of February

Lot of scam books = lot of scammed money for the scammers.

Sela sums it all up with this post:

_I mean, they set up this brand new system of payment for KU. A reader reads your whole book? You get paid for the whole book. A reader reads only half? You get paid for those pages only. This would reward good books, right? Books that pleased readers? Those authors whose books pleased the most readers would be All Stars!

Except, no.

Turns out Amazon DOESN'T know how many actual pages actual readers actually read. It only knows the last page you were on before you stopped. It ASS-U-MEs that the reader actually read those pages in between the start and place where you "stopped reading" and I say that loosely. It doesn't know how you got to that place where you "stopped reading" just that you got there.

What a great system!

To scam...

As soon as the scammers figured it out, they unleashed the scambooks.

Got 30 erotica works that no longer earn much in KU 2.0? Simple: bundle them up, throw in a few novels, a few translations, and put the TOC at the back and a link so that the reader HAS to click to the back of the volume to read the advertised story. BAM. Full read in KU. Full payout. Some of those books were tens of thousands of pages long and netted their scammers $50+ per scam-read. Put a link to the back of the eBook and a contest, and readers would click to the back and BAM. Full KU payout. Put a riddle with the answer at the back, or an urgent message, or a chance to win a Kindle, or some other trick, and BAM. Full KU payout. Become an All Star. Scam Amazon.

_


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## Gator (Sep 28, 2012)

VEVO said:


> You can tell when the "scams" took off.


On or about Oct. 12, 2015. That's when the number of eBooks being enrolled in KU reversed a long-term downtrend. The previous day reached an average of 644 eBooks enrolled in KU per day for the previous month. The average number of eBooks being enrolled in KU per month has *never been that low in the history of KU, except during the first week of December 2014, because Amazon was removing titles in KU by the thousands*.



> Typical: 1000 books added per day to KU
> Not typical: up to 1840 books added per day to KU on average for the month of February
> 
> Lot of scam books = lot of scammed money for the scammers.


February 2016 averaged 1,794 eBooks enrolled in KU per day. No month in the history of KU has had that high an average. A lot of that increase was due to the scammers cutting up their huuuge bundles into multiple 3,000 KENP-sized eBooks (due to Amazon's new limit), making it look like a lot of new titles. Not really, though. They're just different combinations of duplicate content.


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