The merger of two big publishers shows the book business’s challenges
The book industry has felt more pain than pleasure in the past few years,
largely thanks to technology. Many physical retailers, such as Borders, have
shut down after losing out to cheap online sellers, particularly Amazon.
In only three years the page has turned for electronic books; American
publishers generated $2.1 billion in revenues from them last year, up by more
than 3,200% from 2008, according to BookStats, which tracks the industry. In
theory e-books offer better margins, because they are cheaper to produce. But
publishers fret that customers will soon expect to pay less for all books. That
won’t be so good for profits.
