Amazon To Shut Down Media On Demand Service

Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN announced Monday afternoon it will close its Media on Demand service this spring.

What Happened: Media on Demand was a spinoff of the self-publishing platform CreateSpace, which began as an independent company in 2000 called BookSurge and was acquired by Amazon in 2005.

CreateSpace enabled individuals to publish their own books, CDs and DVDs on its platform, and in 2018 the book publishing aspect of CreateSpace was merged with Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing service while the DVDs and CDs were transferred to the Media on Demand service.

“While we will stop accepting new titles on March 31, 2021, you will still be able to sell your existing titles through June 4, 2021,” said Amazon in an email to the Media on Demand content owners. “These dates may be subject to change so make sure to check the closure schedule for more details and updates on our closure status.”

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Why It Happened: Amazon stated its decision was “based on customer and content owner feedback, specifically their preference for digital streaming services vs. physical discs.”

This marks the second time in a week that Amazon has moved away from accommodating independent creative artists seeking to bring their work to the platform. Last week, Amazon announced its Prime Video Direct platform has stopped accepting unsolicited documentary and short film submissions.

Amazon has not set a specific date for the closure of the service, although it's tentatively aiming for an August shutdown.