Sunday, March 24, 2013

Ebook "downturn" a lie

So often stories about the future of printed books begin with the old Mark Twain adage that his death was greatly exaggerated. I feel that way about ebook growth stories, although as you know I am not ebook-centric, in fact believe that ebooks can't survive without print book options. But the Digital Book World daily report, which I love, has this headline: Ebook growth slows. The story goes: "Remember when ebook revenues were growing by triple digits month-over-month? Well, those days are long over. That's the bad news. The good news is that ebooks are still growing at a healthy double-digit clip - and on a much larger base. According to the latest numbers from the Association of American Publishers, ebook revenues were up about 21% in Nov. 2012 versus the same month last year. This is down from Oct. 2012, when ebook sales grew by 41% and from Sept. when they grew 31%. For the year, ebooks are up about 35%. Year-to-date, ebooks comprise nearly 20% of all trade revenues." Whew 21 percent growth. The newspaper industry, that I used to work for, hasn't seen 21 percent growth in more than 30 years. I'll take it. And please note, this growth is on a much larger base than before. Important.

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