‘Global Ebook Report’ suggests ‘end of the digital beginning’

The international book market is at the ‘end of the digital beginning’, according to the 2016 edition of the Global Ebook Report, compiled by Ruediger Wischenbart. ‘What we currently see,” says Wischenbart, ‘is most probably the “end of the digital beginning,” and the beginning transition into the next, perhaps even more challenging phase, where writing, publishing and reading morph into fluid settings; where any content, in any format, is available for almost any user—yet without much stability both with regard to who is offering what, as well as how that offer is taken in by the many fickle audiences around the world.’ Ebook pricing remains an unresolved issue, says Wischenbart, who warns that ‘without any formal violation of [local] regulations, ebooks have systematically begun to undercut the practices of books having, for each format and edition, a price that is easy to anticipate by the consumer’. Wischenbart cites a ‘strikingly confused picture’ in Europe, where ebook bestsellers can be priced anywhere between €0.99 and €25. The annual report explores ebook trends around the world, and observes that in 2015 ‘ebooks, while often stagnant overall, have been able to occupy significant niches’. For more information about the report click here.

Category: International news