The fact that Amazon has a stranglehold on distribution of dead-tree versions of books is precisely why publishers hate Amazon. As the buzz in the book biz aro

The fact that Amazon has a stranglehold on distribution of dead-tree versions of books is precisely why publishers hate Amazon. As the buzz in the book biz around Apple's "agency" model for ebook distribution is starting to show, publishers would love nothing more than for Apple to scare Amazon. This lame SDK announcement and the recent change in the cut that Amazon will demand shows you just how scared Amazon really is.