Amazon.com appoints head of Worldwide Digital Group

Online retailer Amazon.com has named Jeff Blackburn general manager of worldwide digital. Blackburn will lead the Amazon Worldwide Digital Group in the continued development and deployment of the company`s global digital distribution platform. Amazon.com`s Worldwide Digital Group was created to centralize its digital platform and aggressively scale it across product lines and geographies. Blackburn was instrumental in building the team and defining its industry-wide mission to help content owners maximize sales of their digital products online. The group is working closely and building long-term alliances with book publishers, record labels, film studios and game and software publishers to cultivate this new distribution channel. "We`ve always planned to develop an aggressive digital offering when the experience was truly valuable for customers," said Blackburn. "Even though this channel is still in its very early stages, major publishers and record labels have the right teams and plans in place to drive rapid progress. We know tens of millions of customers want access to digital content online, and we intend to work with our content partners to quickly improve the digital download buying experience and available selection. We expect tremendous upside for all stakeholders as the format matures."