Digital Media in the Publishing Industry

Reading alone has become as old-fashioned as print itself. Thanks to the growth of technology, readers are now seeking to form online communities around their favourite authors and books. The politics of piracy that have plagued the music industry with the growth of digital has been suggested as a similar threat to the print industry. However, by embracing  this change, we have created a whole new way of enjoying books, not threatening them. Ranging from the ‘sticky websites’ Hollander uses to describe online forums and websites, to everyday social media, the e-book allows its readers to post information, thoughts or even share books themselves online, transforming the art of reading into a new, sociable experience

The current economical climate goes hand in hand with technological aspects of today’s society. Reduced print circulation and general income alongside price rises has forced the publishing industry into seeking innovative ways to get their materials read, and still make a profit. Online publishing reduces the costs incurred when producing material in print. Digital media is not only cheaper than print, it is more accessible and user friendly. (World Newsmedia Innovation) The convenience at reading materials on the go can result in clawing in an unexpected  reader, in addition to saving on expenditure.

Furthermore, the social habits of consumers has changed considerably in this new digital age. Hollander also discusses the constant need for innovative concepts and ideas, leaving customers craving the next big thing. This fast-paced, instant culture has developed a need for us to have the newest craze as soon as possible, and this is what digital was created for. E-books mean that customers no longer have to wait, or leave the house to buy the next best seller: it’s already there. 

Technology is the driving force behind the key changes in the publishing industry. The need to create new technologies, or to use existing ones in an innovative way has become the focal point of our society, the publishing industry no less. In a world where nothing exists if not on a screen, books have had to reinvent themselves to reach a wider audience. The invention of e-books, in addition to online publications has not only kept the industry up to speed with the rest of the world, but it has also created a new way to access our most valued materials.

Media Industry - PEST Analysis

Political, Economic, Socio-Cultural, Technological Factors – These will help make sense of the bigger picture.

Political – The Digital revolution is expanding yet has many issues to combat. One of which is the number of lawsuits it has faced due to copyrighted content. This has led publishers to take an extra precaution as they need to avoid future lawsuits. They demand that freelancers sign away electronic rights or risk not being published electronically. (Cunningham B. Who owns that story now? Columbia J Rev. 2000; 38(5):11). The threat here is piracy, where people will copy content free of charge.

Economic – The pressure is rising to sell more books. Profits on e-books are not as high and this means that authors are not able to make enough revenue. Technology has undermined the economics of book publishers and authors. On a positive note, e-readers help the economy because e-books as a supply inventory chain control saves trees in the long run. Digital editions of magazines are also creating an attractive environment for advertisers.

Socio-Cultural – New publishing strategies create engaged community forums, for example Goodreads.com is a digital and social networking library which allows people to chat about books and creates awareness about niche books. This builds an opportunity for promotion of products which would not only help authors but also help publishers. A threat that social networking may impose is bad reviews and therefore have the opposite effect. The audience now have just as much access to media distribution as publishers do. E-marketer has reported that CEO's within the media and entertainment industry are leaning on social media to encourage growth and build future customer connections. (www.Fipp.com)

Technological – The media market place is not simply about technology. But technology does in fact play a huge role. Convergence of media is making boundaries harder to decipher. Where do books end is one main question and another medium begin.  The rise of e-books meant numerous platforms were created as a marketplace for books. One example is when Steve Jobs announced the launch of the iPad iBooks, which created a huge opportunity for publishers. A problem with technology is that it is forever changing and media companies must always look at innovative ways to lure back those lapsed readers, with the added pressure of other competing technologies. The good thing about the discovery of new media devices is that it is transforming magazine media audiences, whilst print remains just as important.

 Fipp has researched into how

 “The remarkable strengths of tablets, websites, smartphones and social media in presenting magazine content, and consumers enthusiastic acceptance of these new means of 

delivery, means that for publishers there is a dramatic and continuing shift in profile towards digital audiences without necessarily reducing print audiences. All in all, this indicates a very healthy future for magazine media is one of the conclusions drawn in the book.”

By Saima Omar

Innovation

For product innovation, magazines, particularly business to business titles are now branching out to create brand extensions. For example many now have industry awards, networking events, and seminars. This has also led to position innovation in that magazine publishers now consider themselves as ‘brands’ rather than a magazine plus extra bits.

Spotify is an example of quite explicit process innovation in that it completely changed the way music was delivered, by drawing on file-sharing developments but adding limitations to keep the music producers happy.

A good example of almost ‘backtracked’ position innovation is the kindle cover in the style of book sleeve. It managed to steer the kindle away from being a high tech gadget to being something you can still curl up with, having it resting in your palm. And essential context move particularly for older consumers.

As Bessant & Tidd point out, the internet and technology are a great catalyst for paradigm innovation and one assumes most organisations today would like to think they are ‘changing the way we do things’, even if some are really still rather stuck. Perhaps the most essential change in mental models today’s technology is its social and interconnected nature. People are desperate to share and connect which has led for example to innovations in ebooks to allow sharing of passages and even temporary lending of books between ebooks.

Overall it seems that digital provides massive potential for position and paradigm innovation. We know now that product innovation will happen insanely fast and effectively – our technology and skill levels make this relatively easy. What is more difficult is knowing what to do with more abstract concepts of what all these potential developments mean in terms of how they could change our culture and day to day lives.

Advertising as revenue stream in E-Books

There seem to be contradicting convictions on the possibility of advertisements being included in e-books in order to reduce their cover price (a move which could ease the reader protestations mentioned in The Maudster's post). While Sam Hollander claims that “None of the sources in digital publishing would agree that in-book advertising is on the horizon” (Hollander 2011), John Wheeler’s research in publishing trends shows a prediction that ads WILL start to appear in eBooks (Wheeler 2011). Could it be that in the six months between the first comment and the second we have seen a change in sentiment towards advertising?

Generally I would argue that the latter makes sense since, socially, we are already so conditioned to be interrupted by adverts, on tv, on the radio, in magazines and in newspapers.

It seems to still be in debate among publishing companies with varying conclusions such as Harper-Collins' plan to include ads in e-textbooks but not fiction e-books, where it deems it would be too distracting (Kobie, 2011)... though one wonders if it would really be so distracting in natural chapter breaks.

But I also think that if publishers have shifted their feelings on advertising it may be due to the resounding success of Spotify as a model for the music industry. We know that publishers have looked to the music industry for indications of what to do and what not to do with their own digitalisation, and perhaps the Spotify model is one of the 'what to do's'. Namely that users are generally happy to be interrupted by adverts if it means they are getting something else (music) for free / cheap. Plus there is the added revenue model in the incentive to pay to go 'premium' so as not to get interrupted by adverts.

As a magazine journalism student (who is nevertheless still very interested in eBook models) I'd be really interested to get thoughts on advertisements from the publishing students.

Hollander, S. (2011) “Listen to the Music: Lessons for Publishers from Record Labels’ Digital Debut Decade,” Publishing Research Quarterly, 27:26–35

Kobie, N. (2011) "Publisher considering ads in ebooks", PCPro.co.uk at: http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/371191/publisher-considering-ads-in-ebooks [Accessed 22/01/2012]

Wheeler, J. P. (2011) “Publishing Trends 2011 to 2012, and the Changing Landscape (part 2 of 3)”, Spi-global.com at: http://www.spi-global.com/content-solutions-blog/content-solutions/publishing-trends-2011-to-2012-and-the-changing-landscape-part-2-of-3 [Accessed 22/1/2012]