The publishing industry has had a long and time-honored business model, distribution chain, and marketing system. Like the newspaper, magazine, and recorded music industries, the book publishing industry is in for some turbulent times. The technological changes brought on by the internet, smartphones, and other digital devices are causing the landscape to shift dramatically and metaphorically like the potential impact of movement in the San Adreas fault lines on California.
The options available for today's consumers include Amazon's Kindle with e-books starting at $10.99, audiobook downloads from Audible.com, iTunes, and recorded books on CDs. Barnes and Noble has developed an e-reader of its own. Apple just introduced the iPad.
What are the book publishers to do? Not that they would ask me, but I would recommend that they initiate a massive research program to understand the consumer preferences of the various demographic groups and target such masses accordingly. Also, they need to forge strong and symbiotic relationships with the tech giants such as Apple, Amazon, Google, etc. McMillan has a relationship with Amazon. Such research efforts may be underway.
It should be very interesting to see how this all unfolds in the months, not years, ahead. The pace of change is just that fast. Unless these industries adapt and change their longstanding models and attitudes, they most certainly face a much different and less profitable future.
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