Tommi Pedruzzi Discusses Amazon's Permissionless Model for Book Publishing
Tommi Pedruzzi pointed out that most business models require licensing, while publishing books on Amazon does not require any permission; authors can simply upload their works for sale.
Amazon handles print-on-demand, logistics, customer service, payment, and royalty distribution, allowing authors to continuously sell after building their assets once; this contrasts with restaurants, coaches, or agencies that require leasing, qualifications, and client approvals.
In terms of market mechanisms, creators and independent authors concentrate their funds and energy on zero-barrier digital publishing platforms, with Amazon benefiting from commissions through the KDP ecosystem, while traditional publishing intermediaries, physical retailers, and local service providers reliant on licensing face pressure, as content creation and passive income flow towards permissionless assets.
Source: Public Information
ABAB AI Insight
Tommi Pedruzzi, as an entrepreneur related to Amp Public, has long observed the licensing barriers in the digital economy. His views continue the impact of the KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) model on traditional publishing since the 2010s, emphasizing that "uploading equals listing" eliminates multiple layers of gatekeeping such as editors, agents, and bookstores.
In terms of capital pathways, independent authors invest their time resources into content creation and achieve global distribution and automated monetization through Amazon's infrastructure. The platform mobilizes print-on-demand and logistics networks to take a commission ranging from 30% to 70%, with a strategy aimed at lowering the entry barrier for authors to scale content supply while creating stable high-margin digital + physical mixed revenue for Amazon.
Similar cases include YouTube creators profiting without TV station licenses, Substack authors bypassing media editors for direct subscriptions, and early eBay/Shopify allowing individuals to sell without physical stores; currently, digital publishing is in a mature expansion phase transitioning from traditional licensing-driven models to fully permissionless asset construction.
Essentially, this represents a restructuring of the industry chain: the traditional publishing supply chain is being replaced by a platform-based on-demand system, where the mechanism of digital uploads + print-on-demand technology eliminates inventory and approval costs, leading to a concentration of pricing power from publishing intermediaries and physical channels to the Amazon platform and independent creators, while also reducing the risk of entrepreneurial failure and amplifying the potential for long-term passive income.