Brave New World

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Brave New World
Digitisation of Content: the opportunities for booksellers and The Booksellers Association
ISBN 978-0-9552233-3-4

You can download the Report from our website without charge [N.B. It consists of 122 pages]. Please click below to download the PDF format.

If you would like a printed copy of the Report, you can obtain it from The Booksellers Association at £20.00 a copy (£10.00 to BA members). Please click below for an order form; e-mail your order to mail@booksellers.org.uk or telephone 020 7802 0802.

If you have an e-book reader, or wish to experience an e-book reader, Value Chain International have kindly produced the report for the following readers: D X Reader; M S Reader; Mobipocket Reader; and the Adobe eBook Reader.

• Go to their website
• using the standard login details
  • userid = bookseller
  • password = bookseller
• either sample the report online in DX Reader or download the other formats to a PC or PDA.
• The facility to download requires the approipate reader to be also downloaded.
• (Please note that the BA publication cost of £20 is overridden and no charges will be incurred)

In order to keep our readers up to date with developments since the publication of Brave New World, Martyn Daniels has started a Blog, which can be seen via the following link: Digitisation of Content Blog. The views expressed in this Blog are designed to stimulate debate and are not necessarily those of the Booksellers Association

Booksellers’ survival is contingent upon digital technology

Launch of The Booksellers Association’s digital report shows far-reaching effects for bookselling and publishing

London , 9 November 2006 – The Booksellers Association of the United Kingdom and Ireland (BA) today launched its Digitisation of Content (DOC) Report, authored by digital expert Martyn Daniels and commissioned by the BA’s DOC Working Group.The report assesses the opportunities that exist for today’s booksellers, the consumer interface and understanding whether bookstores have a role in the digital age.

While much progress has been made in digitising content in the professional and academic sectors, many of the challenges facing both booksellers and publishers remain in the general book trade. In particular, there have been limited e-book sales worldwide to date, representing less than one per cent of print book sales.

The DOC Report recognised that book publishing was not one industry but several that were joined in the past by a common format - the book. However, when content is digitised, these different sectors diverge at different speeds and respond to different consumer needs. Reading fiction is different to an academic monograph, or a reference book, or a travel book. Each now needs to be understood not from a format perspective, but from a reader’s one.

Speaking on the launch of the report, David Roche, President of the Booksellers Association commented, “In our view, digitisation is the number one issue facing our membership and individual members neglect considering the issues at their peril. The digital world is moving at such a pace that some industry watchers have heralded it as having the potential to change the book trade more than any other revolution since Gutenberg. Although the impact and speed of change is highly debatable, the changes concerning digitisation will continue, the pace of change will accelerate and the key to success is booksellers and publishers working in partnership.”

Jo Willetts, chairman of the BA’s DOC Report expands further, “In order to make this transition as smoothly as possible to the digital world, booksellers need to digitise now and avoid being left behind whilst new entrants and competitors seize the opportunities that this brave new world offers. Booksellers have an opportunity to build on current strengths to help publishers sell digital content. Booksellers are trusted by consumers, they have detailed product knowledge and good relationships with publishers”

Key highlights from the report include:

• The potential growth of the digital market. Within the last ten years consumers have embraced the internet. High speed access is accelerating and by 2007 it is estimated that worldwide there will be 320 million households with broadband access. It is also estimated that eight per cent of total consumer sales in the UK are now generated online.
• Lessons learnt from other industries. The music industry, in particular, has been hugely affected by digital content with consumers downloading music from legal – and illegal – sources onto iPods and other MP3 players. Predictions are that the digital audiobook download market will enjoy an earlier market than that of e-books and pave the way for e-books to flourish.
• How different parts of the world have developed and embraced digital content. In China, for instance, in order to avoid all the physical costs associated with textbooks, the government has decided to supply 165 million students with an e-reader. In Japan, nearly half the population are already subscribing to entertainment content services on their mobile phones.
• Search engines. New entrants have declared their digital book intent and are now moving into the marketplace. These vary significantly from new start ups, to the internet giants such as Google, MSN and Yahoo. Digital content is increasingly being used to facilitate search and discovery. It will also provide the ultimate authentication and relevance check, in effect providing consumers with the same experience they enjoy by touching the book in the bookstore.
• E-book readers. Technology, in the form of an e-book reader, is viewed by many as the key to driving digital content. Others see not a single dedicated device but a convergence of mobile technologies providing the e-book solution. It is clear that new and better devices are coming to the market, but what is not clear is whether these will provide the consumer “tipping point” like the iPod did with music.
• Potential markets. The technically savvy young are seen by many as the audience for digital content and this may be the case in certain sectors. However, it must be recognised that the ‘silver surfers’ are also getting switched on to digital content, have greater disposable income and read more books. The older grey market may also be less price sensitive and will buy more e-books, a-books (audio) and p-books (physical)
• Consumers. Consumer demands are analysed in the report from the political, environmental, social and technical perspectives. It recognises that books are often read differently by different groups and that some are perfectly suited to a digital age. The big question is whether the consumer is prepared to pay for digital content and the associated potential commercial conflicts with the emerging library and social publishing models.

Martyn Daniels, author of the DOC report explains how the book trade industry can move forward, “This research was born out of cooperation between booksellers and it is now planned to extend this work to embrace authors, publishers and others. We hope that this report provides a catalyst for continued dialogue and collaboration in the book trade industry to help drive digital developments and maximise the opportunities that digital content offers. The book trade needs to recognise the need to support the existing retail channel, which still will generate the majority of the revenues for the foreseeable future, and not bypass it and weaken its ability to respond.”