In 2010, Jobs and Apple were preparing to release the iPad. A key feature would be the tablet’s ability to function as an e-reader, similar to Amazon’s Kindle (which had already been out for a few years). Of course, the more publishers willing to contribute books to Apple’s iTunes store, the more appeal the iPad would hold.
Four major publishers had already signed on, but another, HarperCollins, was holding out.
Negotiations eventually centered around a key conversation between Jobs and James Murdoch, an executive at News Corp. (HarperCollins’ parent company). Murdoch wasn’t convinced his company (and its partners) could agree to the terms Apple was offering, especially regarding the “ceding of pricing to Apple.”
Jobs proceeded to write an email to try to convince HC to join.
This is a very intriguing piece, and while I’ve seen some articles before about “the best” ways to write an email, this one email seemed very well formed, in a whole manner of aspects.