The H Factor: Do the big publishers really want e-books to succeed?
Are the big guys—Random House, HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster and the rest—still hoping that e-books will fail or remain just a speck of the publishing business? Are they hobbling them?
Yes, the giants have indeed made much progress. E-book prices have dropped somewhat, and S&S is even experimenting with release of e-books before the p-editions. But might some p-publishers still be of mixed mind, given their multibillion-dollar investments in p-books? Are we e-book boosters—including our brethren working within the bowels of the giants—still up against a Cyberbookish kind of situation?
The H Factor
Enter Richard John Guthrie. He wrote his master’s dissertation on “‘The e-Book Challenge to the Trade Paperback: Determinants, Dynamics and Structure of Trade e-Book Publishing in the UK.” Guthrie is now writing nonfiction books and a novel about the publishing industry. In response to the TeleBlog’s complaint that high prices, consumer-hostile DRM and the like have “hobbled” e-books to a great extent, Guthrie says:
Consumers are the reason publishing corporations are in business. The parent media conglomerates of the publishing corporations have dismantled (and still are dismantling) the e-book alternative because they want power over the market and consumers and the provision of information products.
In simple revenue and profit terms I believe they are making a huge error. By opening up the trade they would benefit hugely as well. But they are ‘genetically’ unable to risk their power. The debacle over Gemstar is something I have looked at closely and can conclude the deliberate dismantling of a competitor to print books (and cable TV), was done by News Corp and others, with, unfortunately, the tacit or unknowing support of Yuen himself. As Rothman writes, price (of e-readers and e-books) was/is the key element.
Same as a conspiracy
On a private e-mail list, a publishing expert said that in e-pricing, the big boys really do factor in the existence of paper editions of the same titles. In other words, they’re less interested in e-book sales in particular than in making money in general. As I see it, that is not an evil conspiracy. Still, cumulatively, the effect is the same, and it’s unfortunate. Long term, by nurturing the e-book market and reaching new readers, especially in developing countries, publishers could grow their profits.
Other perspectives sought: The TeleBlog is very eager to hear from people at large publishers. We’ll publish you with or without a byline, whatever your opinions. I myself, by the way, am rooting for publishers of all sizes to succeed in e-books. I’m especially keen on seeing whether large publishers can establish Long Tail imprints that could test out good books in e-book form before gambling on paper editions. I recognize that printing, distribution and storage costs are just part of the total price of a book. Still, I’d love to see the giants test out my premise that they could do quite well as Long Tailers in the e-realm.
Related Guthrie posts: Corporate publishing’s dishonest pricing of e-books and E-books and e-readers: who should judge?.
Photo credit: Creative Commons-licensed, from Ride ‘Em Fast via FlickR.
January 15th, 2007 at 3:29 pm
Why not books with advertising in them? Magazine-like books would be acceptable to me.