2 - The digital information marketplace and its economics: the end of exclusivity

Summary

Summary

The digital change does not just concern information. It permeates every aspect of life, from the way we study, learn and educate, to the way we shop, acquire information, gossip, interact, find partners and accumulate wealth. So why not take into account all aspects of communication in deciding which way to go with the services being provided? Business models that have long supported the information industry by creating an audience and methods of delivery are undergoing seismic (some would argue cataclysmic) change, so those who ignore it do so at their peril. Too many years ago, the author, as a fresh-faced library school student, was required to study the workings of the book publishing industry, even to the extent of setting up and printing pages from a hand-press, and learning the meaning of terms such as verso, flyleaf, copyright and perfect binding. The recipients of these black arts were then known as readers, united by a commonality of interest largely unchanged since the days when Wynkyn de Worde, from his press below St Brides, published 25 books in a single year (1509, a year of uncommonly good gossip). The exclusivity created by the ownership of the printing press is over and gone forever. This chapter explains why that matters.

The changing world of publishing

The current threats and opportunities faced by traditional print news and media publishers in the face of digital delivery and content generation systems and applications are becoming well documented, though still subject to some dispute within the publishing industries. Notably, the same debates are taking place in the magazine, broadcasting, book and music publishing markets with equal ferocity. One thing characterizes all of these industries, however, and that is the level of structural change being brought about by the changing nature of the consumer. These industries, having flourished for many decades by understanding very well their own market segments and exploiting their differences, are looking more and more like each other, and the effects of these market breakdowns will prove to be seismic. A student of any of these industries, when asked the fundamental question: ‘What is broadcasting?’, ‘What is consumer publishing?’, ‘What is music publishing?’ or ‘What is book publishing?’ would find it much more difficult to answer that question in 2008 than they would have in, say 1988.