Alliance Command

The rise of digital music changed how people buy and listen to music. Bands and record companies increasingly use MySpace and Imeem to promote their music via social media, and because the industry has gone digital with I-Tunes and downloads, the marketing marriage is perfect. Books are different then music though, right? Perhaps not.

While the Kindle alone might not revolutionize books like the I-Pod did for music, things are shifting in the publishing world. For example, the below e-book sales chart provided by the International Digital Publishing Forum (IDPF) shows that digital book purchases from Q3 2008 have nearly tripled in Q3 2009. What’s the cause? It appears three things are influencing the cusp of this forthcoming publishing revolution.

1) E-Readers: Aside from Amazon’s Kindle, Sony Reader, and soon to be released Apple Tablet, other companies are quickly introducing newer and better e-book platforms, technologies, and ideas for consumers to use. Bundling artwork and audio within e-readers of the future will enhance the readers experience and change what it feels like to sit down with a “book”.

2) Mainstream Acceptance: The excitement for e-readers has not been explosive – yet. When the original Napster forced someone  to address the overwhelming demand for a digital music player and legal distribution system, Apple had success virtually guaranteed with I-Tunes. While not as distinguishable, the mainstream is becoming more comfortable with reading on digital devices as the above IDPF sales chart indicates.

3) Cost and Compatibility: In a bad economy, the lower cost of an e-book is appealing. It also saves a drive to the bookstore. Past and current arguments have been that “new releases” are not available as e-books. This trend too is changing. One of the industry’s most anticipated new books, The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown, will be available on September 15th in both hardcover and e-book editions. The Guardian UK even asked if this would “spell the end of the printed word.”

I myself have debated a print versus e-book strategy for launching The Contra Alliance Trilogy. Several months ago I was certain the e-book publishing revolution was still on the horizon. Looks like that future is about to arrive. If so, the publishing industry will never be the same.

File Under:   Publishing · Social Media