An Industry Pining for Bookstores
Publishing does not take place in a vacuum but in an ecosystem. The book business is changing not because of a preference for digital books but because physical bookstores are being removed from the ecosystem.
The New Gatekeepers are Economists
Apple colluded with publishers to set prices on books, but the Department of Justice seems not to have noticed the growing market position of Amazon. At what point does a company that trades in cultural products become too big a piece of public discourse?
Why the Apple Ebook Ruling is a Loss for Publishers, Authors, and Readers
Yesterday federal judge Denise L. Cote, of United States District Court in Manhattan, ruled against Apple in the United States vs. Apple Inc., et. al. ebook case. Anyone who thinks this isn’t a terrible outcome for publishers, authors, and readers, isn’t paying attention.
The Last Bookshop
A surprisingly charming short film about a world where books have gone extinct.
Are University Presses Better off Now than They Were Four Years Ago?
The university press world is operating under circumstances that are somewhat tighter than they were even a few years ago. While most presses now publish ebooks, ebooks in themselves do not provide a strategic path to growth.
What Scholarly Publishers Can Learn from Bookish
Bookish is a new online bookstore and discovery service. It is a joint venture of three publishers and presents a useful model for what scholarly publishers could do in building their own online bookstore.
A New Publishing Ecosystem Emerges
A new publishing ecosystem is emerging that includes among its participants O’Reilly Media, Pearson, Safari Books, Barnes & Noble, Microsoft, and Liberty Media. This new ecosystem may come to challenge the proprietary ebook networks of Amazon and Apple.
Amazon Enhances Its Position in Academic Markets with Launch of Its Whispercast System
Amazon’s new local distribution technology allows academic institutions new levels of control.
Why Did Publishers Get So Big?
The recent announcement of the merger of Random House and Penguin prompts an essay on why publishers get big. Surprisingly, their own greed has little to do with it.
Why E-book Distribution Is Completely and Utterly Broken (and How to Fix It)
A recent incident involving Amazon and a Norwegian reader has highlighted the sad state of ebook distribution on many levels.
Amazon Will Even Read the Book for You
Amazon’s new X-ray technology creates books that are automatically annotated. In doing this, the machine is beginning to preempt some aspects of the act of reading.
E-books and the Personal Library
Moving from the West Coast to the East prompts some thoughts on personal libraries and e-books, as it no longer makes economic sense to carry a lifetime of books around with us. But maybe economic sense isn’t the only sense bibliophiles possess . . .
A Publisher's Strategy for Patron-Driven Acquisitions (PDA)
While patron-driven acquisitions is likely to reduce publishers’ revenue in the short-term, over the long term it is likely that the revenue will be restored and even enhances. This post lists all the “PDA offsets” a publisher should consider.
Thinking Through a Strategy for Digital Rights Management
DRM (digital rights management) is a problematic response to a complex situation where copyright infringement becomes common. A management team needs a clear, progressive strategy to offset unauthorized use and may choose to drop DRM
Talking to the End-User — A Publishing Paradigm
Publishers can and should explore strategies that are built around users, which is a kind of D2C marketing. However, working on a direct basis has its costs and may make us all appreciate all the efficiencies that intermediaries provide.