“Publishing is a quaint little industry based on romance and low profit margins. But now we’re in Amazon’s sights, and they’re going to kill us.” – Anonymous Publishing Industry Insider
According to an email (allegedly from a publishing insider) that appears in a January 12th, 2012 blogpost by Sarah Lacy, the days of Old World publishing are few - and Amazon is eager to play the role of executioner.
"Long-term there’s no future in printed books. They’ll be like vinyl: pricey and for collectors only. 95% of people will read digitally. Everybody in publishing knows this but most are in denial about it because moving to becoming a digital company means laying off like 40% of our staffs. And the barriers to entry fall, too. We simply don’t want to think about it."
Unsourced, perhaps even a mean hoax, but I still think the gist of the anonymous email is accurate: The revenue models for Old World publishing are imploding - and Amazon and ebooks stand ready to replace physical books and brick-and-mortar retail bookstores.
I came across Sarah Lacy's post - containing the "publishing insider's" email - via a January 31st, 2012 blogpost by my friend, transmedia storyteller Sparrow Hall who - like me - sees huge opportunities for filmmakers in the New World of ebooks.
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