Leading ebook distributor Draft2digital is scrapping distribution to Google Play and audiobook subscription service Playster.
It’s not a surprising move as in May this year, Google Play insisted that all authors and publishers must have a direct account to publish their ebooks through the channel, making things very difficult for distributors.
Draft2Digital says it has to ensure that any distribution partnerships it offers are structured and maintained to a set of standards to protect the interests of authors and it has determined that distribution to Google Play and Playster are not in the best interests of its authors.
D2D says Google Play’s current terms of service create a relationship with distributors like D2D that is neither manageable nor scalable, forcing authors and aggregators to take extreme measures to be listed. Pricing changes, requirements for account management, and other restrictions imposed on authors make Google Play an unattractive option, it adds.
From October 30, 2019, Draft2Digital will no longer offer Google Play distribution and all titles will be taken down at that time.
D2D also says it has been closely monitoring distribution via Playster for several months and has determined that the platform lacks the level of stability it requires for its distribution partners and will be removing Playster as a distribution channel.
Ebook distributor PublishDrive is still offering distribution to Google Play but there are some hoops to jump through as you’ll need to:
- Fill out a form in the PublishDrive dashboard to be invited to the Google Play Books Program.
- Once you receive an invitation from Google, sign up for a Google Play account.
- Assign PublishDrive as the Service Provider for the account.
The company points out that these tasks may have a lead time of weeks.
You can, of course, go direct with Google Play at their Books Partner Center.
Google Play disses disties and tells indie authors they’ve got to go direct