After taking a year to consider its options and observe how e-book retailers were faring with the agency model, Random House today announced it was committing itself to that model, the last of the Big Six publishers to do so. The most significant aspect of this move is that Amazon is aboard. Last year when the pricing standard was adopted by the other five major houses, a bitter war broke out between Amazon and Macmillan.  There will be no such event in this instance, as Random and Amazon have worked out an agreement.

To place this news in context, last year we wrote the following story, Random Goes Rogue:

Random House will go against the recent rush by its Big Six buddies to the “agency” e-book retail model recently introduced by Apple.

Apple’s approach is for publishers to retain control over the list price, rather than allowing the list price to be pegged by the e-tailer, as is currently employed by Amazon. It also allows publishers flexibility in timing release of e-books – delaying them rather than releasing them simultaneously with publication of hardcover editions.

The move to the Apple model by three major houses spearheaded by Macmillan was the cause of a controversy that triggered removal of Macmillan’s buy buttons by Amazon for a week, at the end of which the e-book retailing landscape was altered, possibly forever. (For background see Apple Promoting a New (and Radical!) Model for Selling E-Books? and Publishing’s Weekend War: 48 Hours that Changed an Industry.)

Random’s decision is based on two approaches to e-book publishing that are at odds with the philosophy of at least three of its fellow publishers. A RH spokesperson voiced the opinion that publishers “have no real experience at setting retail prices.” That explains why Random held back from embracing Apple’s iPad tablet. The other reason is timing of e-book releases. “Our current policy is we release e-books at the same time as physical books,” she said. “I haven’t been convinced that it’s good for the author or consumer to delay the release.”

You can read details here: Random House sides with Amazon, e-book readers on pricing

Random’s press release is reprinted in full below.

STATEMENT FROM RANDOM HOUSE, INC. REGARDING ITS U.S. E-BOOK SALES MODEL

“Random House, Inc. is adopting the agency model for e-book sales in the United States effective March 1, 2011. Going forward, Random House will set consumer prices for the e-books we publish, and we will provide retailers with a commission for each sale. There are no changes to our terms of sale for physical books.

“The agency model guarantees a higher margin for retailers than did our previous sales terms. We are making this change both as an investment in the successful digital transition of our existing partners and in order to give us the opportunity to forge new retail relationships.

“We are looking forward to continuing to work with all our retail partners – both digital and physical — on our joint mission to connect our authors with as many readers as possible, in whatever format they prefer.”

Richard Curtis