Ebooks and discounts drive 98 publishers out of business | Books | theguardian.com
The growth of the internet has accelerated a dynamic that started with the end of the Net Book Agreement," he said. "The rise of Amazon and other discount sellers with massive buying power means the pressure on publishers' margins is now immense. While publishers might be able to sustain relatively small margins on a bestseller, it is much harder for niche publishers."
Niche academic and educational publishers are particularly vulnerable, because their model is being undermined by digital piracy and online secondhand book sales on sites such as Amazon Marketplace. Cork said: "The arrival of Amazon has transformed the secondhand book trade from a fairly minor nuisance to a serious threat. Where once you had to trawl the secondhand bookshops if you wanted to get hold of a cheap hardback or academic book, you can now be fairly certain of getting hold of what you want at the click of a button, and the publisher will not make a penny."
No comments:
Post a Comment