Fascinating throughout but this passage is striking both because it highlights the remaining defence of publishing and because if it is believed by publishers, it heralds the demise of publishing as we know it. Getting ‘its internal dynamics’ right means gutting the publisher as it stands and forever changing the way the industry works:
Publishing is neither printing nor distribution. It is neither paper nor e-ink. It is the creation and support of content, and the delivery of content in whatever ways are both appreciated by readers and profitable. At the moment, the industry is being buffeted by the simultaneous rise of e-books, online retailing and retail chain discounting, as well as changes to copyright policy. It must get its internal dynamics right to remain attractive against more and more home, computer and mobile entertainment.
via The subtext of REDGroup’s collapse | Josh Dowse | Commentary | Business Spectator.
Filed under: Future of Publishing, Books, Digital, Distribution, E-Ink, Publishing, Readers, the future of books
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