In 2023, the global book industry will experience challenges such as rising raw material prices, rising printing and transportation costs, changes in distribution channels, and a decline ......in the children's book market to varying degreesIn the unpredictable market environment, publishers need to adhere to the quality of content and the wisdom and courage to respond to changes. In 2023, what contingency strategies have the British and American publishing industry adopted? What successful business mindsets and practical experiences can we learn from our overseas counterparts?
The iteration of AI technology is driving the transformation of the publishing industry
European Commissioner Thierry Breton said the AI Act is not just a regulatory manual, it is also a European start-up and researcher.
A launch pad that leads the world in the AI track.
In 2023, generative AI has made breakthroughs, and the European Parliament, EU member states and the European Commission recently reached an agreement on the Artificial Intelligence Act, which will be implemented after formal approval by the European Parliament and member states, which further provides a footnote for the rational development and application of AI, and also brings unprecedented challenges and opportunities to the publishing industry. Industry associations and organizations have taken the lead in strengthening the regulation of AI: the Writers Guild of America has updated the model publishing contract for writers, prohibiting publishers or online platforms from using authors' works or authorizing third parties to use authors' works for large-scale model training; The U.S. Copyright Office (USCO) proposes in the new rule that copyright law does not protect works automatically generated by AI; The UK industry association has set up an AI working group to urge the introduction of relevant regulations as soon as possible. The U.S. book industry also held AI-related seminars to discuss the impact of AI on editing, marketing, and production, and to reduce production costs and improve work efficiency.
AI has been used in a variety of publishing fields, and in the popular book sector, publishers are using AI technology for book editing, marketing, and production. For example, designing book covers, reviewing text, writing marketing copy, sending personalized recommendation text messages to readers, monitoring the infringement of well-known authors' works, interpreting long-form emails or business contracts (extracting valuable information from them), identifying competing books, analyzing changes in the chain to reduce costs (such as timely supply to distributors and reducing return rates), generating book metadata, simplifying the production process, and improving the visibility of books across the network through distribution through different channels and optimizing keyword searches. Companies have developed AI workflows that range from extracting book DNA, to generating marketing copy, to pushing content to consumers. In the future, publishers will continue to optimize new book release dates and print runs, and use chatbots and voice search technology to improve book visibility, so as to provide consumers with a better book buying experience. The publishing community agrees that AI applications will only be widely used in the publishing industry once strict rules are in place. Amazon has also created a new team under the direct leadership of CEO Andy Jassy and senior executives from various departments to build its own large language models to help enterprises build generative AI applications, while providing assistive writing tools to improve the productivity of software developers.
In the academic publishing sector, publishers have developed AI tools based on their own databases to help researchers gain insights faster, facilitate international collaboration, and enhance the social impact of scientific research. Publishers adhere to the Responsible AI Principles, ensuring "accountability through human oversight and advocating for strong data governance" to protect consumer and customer attitudes toward the use of generative AI tools. AI technology can help editors find the right peer reviewers faster from a global network of scholars, help non-native English speaking scientists improve scientific communication and reach new audiences around the world, and conduct more sophisticated integrity checks to screen for multiple submissions, fraud, plagiarism, and other issues to ensure academic integrity.
In the educational publishing sector, publishers develop generative AI tools based on trustworthy content collections and integrity principles, launch learning that refines key points of knowledge**, automatically generates quizzes to help students practice in certain specialized areas, and provides open-ended response assessments for English learning to improve students' English writing and speaking skills. The publisher has worked with an edtech AI platform to develop an adaptive learning product that provides expert-written questions and answers to help students pass online tests. There are also publishers who use AI technology to analyze data analysis and analyze learners' learning difficulties to help students achieve better learning results. In response to the rapidly growing demand in the vocational education market, publishers have developed state-of-the-art cloud computing technology to assess global demand trends for skills and jobs and recommend career paths for job seekers.
Children's Book Publishing: Finding Growth Momentum in the Downturn in the Market
Penguin Random House UK Children's Books and Waterstone Books.
For the first time, the Youth Book Festival was jointly held.
Children's books have always been a publishing sector that the publishing industry attaches great importance to, and it also occupies the largest market share. In 2023, the proportion of children's books in the popular book market in the United Kingdom and the United States will reach about 1 3. However, in the context of the global economic downturn and the decline in consumer demand for books, the children's book market is also difficult to get rid of the downward trendIn the first eight months, UK children's book revenue fell by 2% year-on-year4%, and the revenue of children's books in the United States in the first nine months fell by a single digit year-on-year。As in China, the children's book market in the United Kingdom and the United States has also changed from an incremental market to a stock market.
A recent survey in the UK found that the number of children and adolescents enjoying reading has fallen to the lowest level in 20 years, and more than half of 8 to 18-year-olds do not choose to read in their leisure time. On the one hand, parents need to improve their parent-child reading skills, pull their children back from other entertainment activities, and give their children the right to choose reading materials freely; On the other hand, it is also necessary for publishing houses and bookstores to attract children's attention with more innovative content and publicity methods. The problem of declining reading also exists in foreign markets.
From the perspective of different types of development trends, pictures are developing towards a younger age in primary school, while youth**, especially love and fantasy, are being promoted and sold well on the Douyin overseas version (TikTok) platform, while non-fiction children's books with a large number of hand-drawn illustrations are becoming increasingly popular, and baby books are attracting young readers with more unique designs.
Children's book publisherIncrease efforts to operate and maintain accounts in TikTok's book community (BookTok), invite Internet celebrities to make **, and recommend books to young people；Pay attention to the various feedback and interactive topics of the readers of the book community, and actively try to join the conversation at the right time and in the right way to provide valuable information to readers; According to the target readership of the promotion book, select Internet celebrities with the same style and enthusiasm for the book to recommend, and impress fans with the help of the anchor's true feelings.
Children's book publishers are also very goodAttach importance to establishing contact with readers through offline channels, and actively participate in book festivals and other activities held by bookstoresIn front of the booth, we distributed sample books, held author meetings and book discussions to enhance interaction with readers, allowing readers to share their reading experiences and discover new authors and stories. Bookstores also give more support to Douyin recommended books, and set up a special Douyin book recommendation shelf in the store to hold related reading activities, so as to gather popularity and sell ** books.
Publishers transform marketing channels
TikTok, the overseas version of Douyin, became a publisher.
One of the most important ways to transform your marketing channels.
U.S. publishers are suffering from overbookings, over-bookings, and a flood of returns at the end of the year. Publishers have made adjustments by laying off employees and closing some book brands. At the same time, as consumers have shifted their way of buying books online after the pandemic, publishers have changed their internal organizational structures to adapt to market changes and developments. Publishers reclassify books to make it easier for readers to find what they want to read; Adjust the publishing brand and business structure according to market changes, adjust personnel and add new marketing positions; Sign up with social media influencers on TikTok, understand their thoughts by interacting with young people, push their favorite ** according to machine learning algorithms and recommend books; Collect historical data such as readers' browsing and book purchases on the official website, and produce online celebrity book specials to provide personalized recommendations for readers and improve the visibility of authors and their works.
Publishers segment marketing businesses into subcategories such as Consumer Marketing, Consumer Insights & Analytics, Innovation Strategy, Consumer Engagement, Innovation Design & Innovation, Consumer Data & Marketing Automation, and more. Each department has a clear job positioning: the consumer marketing team supports the brand team by continuously developing tools and sharing best practices, creating meaningful experiences for consumers, supporting authors and works; The Consumer Insights & Analytics team stimulates innovation and reader-led decision-making by analysing user segments, seasonal trends, and surveying readership and the individual needs of authors, brands, and categories. The innovation strategy team drives innovation in consumer communication by telling brand stories, building connections with consumers through social media, and connecting with a wider audience. The Consumer Engagement team focuses on managing digital platforms to provide personalized content that is relevant to consumers through emails, ads, etc., to guide readers to the next book. The innovative Design & Design team integrates audiovisual content and design-led experiences into marketing to engage readers with digital platforms; The Consumer Data & Marketing Automation team focuses on the implementation of consumer data strategies to expand data resources, facilitate data management, and foster strategic data collaboration to enhance data-driven marketing capabilities. At the same time, the publisher strengthened data development and management, established a business intelligence team, developed BI tools, organized the publisher's historical data, used data to make decisions, reduced wrong decisions, and freed the data team from it through data scale to focus on analyzing and implementing insights. Drive your business forward.
Publishers have also teamed up with book marketing companies to conduct social media precision marketing for new books, including autographed readings, influencer promotion, mailing new books to influencer streamers, and publishing half of the campaigns on TikTok.
In addition, Amazon's overseas direct procurement policy of books in Europe and the United Kingdom has posed a huge challenge to American publishers, who have to find printing factories overseas, strengthen cooperation with printing factories to accurately print the first printing, and control logistics and warehousing costs.
Innovative operation of bookstores to consolidate the "turf" and attract popularity
A dedicated booktok section in a prominent location in the bookstore.
In 2023, upstream pressures such as raw materials, printing and freight costs**, and labor shortages will be transferred downstreamIn the face of changes such as publishers raising the price of books, purchasing books that are not selling well in stores, and consumers moving to buy books online, bookstores have taken four measures. First, settle in TikTok, hire book anchors on social **, open social media accounts or cooperate with anchors to sell, provide readers with TikTok order and offline pick-up services, and drive in-store book sales. Second, change the idea of opening stores in downtown areas, increase store layout by closing the original location of stores and opening new stores in important tourist places such as airports and railway stations during the epidemic period, close stores with poor atmosphere, cancel the display space in front of the store sponsored by the publishing house, reduce the number of first purchases of key new books, and decentralize the purchase, display and quality rights of books in each branch, so that bookstores can be closer to the needs of consumers in the local community, form personalized characteristics in various places, and increase the visibility of books. Third, more attention should be paid to strengthening the skills training of store staff and improving the service level of bookstores. Fourth, we will strive to solve the problem of bookstore returns, improve the functions of bookstores, and enhance the user's experience of buying books.
The British and American bookstore chains have achieved scale expansion in 2023, and the initiative to expand stores will continue in 2024. Barnes & Noble will open 50 new stores on top of its current 620 stores, and Waterstone Bookstore will open 10 new stores on top of its current 320 stores. The number of independent bookstores in the UK and the US has also continued to grow, with the number of independent bookstores in the UK continuing to increase from 867 in 2016 to 1,072 in 2023 (according to the British Booksellers Association), and the number of independent bookstores in the US has increased from 1,401 in 2009 to 2,185 and 2,599 stores in 2023 (according to statista**), setting a new historical record. After the epidemic, the desire of mass readers to enter physical bookstores has become more urgent, and independent bookstores have paid more attention to adopting an "embedded community" model to attract local writers and writers from other parts of the country to unite community readers. It is also known through an alliance with independent bookstores (bookshoporg) to provide nearby consumers with a convenient channel for online book purchase and offline self-pickup.
Although the bookstore faced various challenges, it received strong support from industry associations. A workforce survey of bookstores conducted by the British Booksellers Association in February found that bookstores have a less diverse workforce (too few people from ethnic minorities), which creates an impression that bookstores are less inclusive and less belonging, and that they are less likely to buy books in stores. Therefore, bookstores are encouraged to increase the number of minority employees. Industry associations organize conferences to encourage the exchange of expertise, reader feedback, and best practices across different bookstores, cultures, and contexts, so that bookstores can learn, innovate, and grow from each other; Skills training is also carried out to help newcomers and employees at different stages improve their professional skills and work experience. The association has developed tools to help discover bestsellers and upcoming new books, as well as tools to analyze inventory and bibliography to help bookstores identify potential books, optimize inventory, and resolve returns. The association has also developed related financial software, logistics system, insurance system, human resource service platform and bookstore event ticketing platform to provide all-round services to bookstores. In addition, attracting non-traditional pop-up bookstores, mobile bookstores, and online bookstores to become members is also a direction of the industry association's work, and through the joining of new book retail stores, it will bring new business thinking and business models to traditional bookstores.
Audiobooks will soon become the number one track for digital books
Daniel, founder and CEO of Spotify. e.k
In October, at the press conference held at the headquarters in the United States to develop audiobook services in the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia, it was said that entering the audiobook field was the company's following the change
After the podcast market, another streaming service is offered.
The Audiobook Publishers Association of America recently released data,The U.S. audiobook market has maintained double-digit growth for 11 consecutive years。According to the association, from 2017 to 2022, the proportion of audiobook revenue increased from 6% to 11%, and in 2022, digital audiobook revenue accounted for more than 10% of the mass book market. According to the monthly statistics of the American Publishers Association Statshot, in the first nine months of 2023, the revenue of e-books in the United States fell by 1% year-on-year2% to 7$49.9 billion, digital audiobook revenue increased by 14% year-on-year5% to 6$28.3 billion, at this rate, audiobooks will become the largest category in the U.S. digital book market within 2 years.
Swedish streaming company Spotify surveyed 1,000 Gen Z and Millennial youth and found that 72% of users aged 18 to 34 listened to books. The audiobook market has achieved sustained and rapid growth, but at the same time, it has not encroached on the paper book market as feared, but has brought new readership and sales revenue to the book market, and more and more technology companies have entered the audiobook track. Following Amazon's Audible, Apple, and Overdrive, Spotify will enter the European and American markets in 2023, launching audiobook streaming** services in the United Kingdom, Australia, and the United States. Premium subscribers can listen to 150,000 audiobooks for 15 hours in the first month, and more than 70% of them have been on the New York Times bestseller list$99 for an additional 10 hours of listening. Spotify uses a combination of consumer data collection and expert recommendations to recommend books to users, and has signed cooperation agreements with five major publishers and many independent publishers, obtained authorization for audiobook development or online platforms, and then provided a part of the revenue share to publishers after realizing subscription revenue.
Audiobook developers have also accelerated their layout of the audiobook market through mergers and acquisitions. Spotify has stepped up its entry into the market since acquiring audiobook publisher Findaway in 2021 to provide sales of custom audiobooks. Penguin Random House acquired audiobook maker Playaway Products in February 2023. The company developed 3With 60,000 audiobooks serving 40,000 public libraries, schools, the military, and the industry, Penguin Random House hopes to expand its audio content resources through mergers and acquisitions, achieve organic growth, and gain greater revenue from the fast-growing audiobook market.
The Spotify platform has millions of paying users around the world, and different thresholds can be set according to the length of time consumers listen to books. Spotify's business model is to provide premium subscribers with 15 hours of audiobooks per month, and more than 150,000 audiobooks are included in the service. The Audible platform gives away points to premium subscribers every month to listen to the corresponding number of audiobooks for free, but its subscription model has a credit card loophole that users can exploit to unlimited** audiobooks, which has been criticized by publishers. As a result, publishers have lost their due revenue in the audiobook market.
At the same time, Audible Caption, an audio-to-text tool developed by the Audible platform, has also been criticized by publishers, which allows users to listen to books while watching the audio transcript on the screen, which once again put competitive pressure on the publisher's audiobook sales, and was jointly appealed by seven publishers in the United States. Spotify's entry into the audiobook market broke Amazon's monopoly. However, despite the support of Spotify in the publishing world, it has been opposed by writers. The British Authors Guild pointed out that the Spotify platform did not consult the author or copyright owner, and did not include streaming ** in the terms of the contract signed between the copyright owner and the publisher regarding the licensing of audio products. With the explosive development of the audiobook market, the relevant legal system needs to be improved urgently.
The book podcast market continues to grow
Book podcasts launched by cultural institutions and the book industry.
As the ear economy has become a popular trend since the pandemic and the number of audio consumers continues to increase, audio developers are embracing new technologies and finding innovative ways to engage consumers. According to the "2023 Audio Market Analysis Report" (The Spoken Word Audio Report 2023) released by Edison Research at the end of October 2023, the number of users and listening time of non-** audio have hit a record high: 48% of people over the age of 13 in the United States (about 1.).3.5 billion) people listen to audio content every day, an increase of 2 percentage points year-on-year, and the proportion of consumers listening to non-** audio programs per day increases by 11 percentage points to 31%. Podcasts account for 36% of audio program consumption.
Book podcasts have become a major force in podcasts and have attracted more and more attention from people in the publishing industry。Since 2023, the frequency of podcast program updates has slowed down and developed in the direction of high-quality content, and various platforms have taken the initiative to attract more high-quality content producers to settle in, expand their influence in the mainstream circle through high-concentration high-quality content, and stimulate the commercial value of podcasts. Podcasts form program characteristics by digging deep into content resources, attracting more brand attention and cooperation, and opening up a blue ocean of ear economy.
From the perspective of the type of podcast hosts, the first type is the podcast developed by newspapers and book review magazines based on their resource advantages. Podcast programs such as "New York Times Book Review", "Guardian Books" and "The New Yorker's ** Podcast". The New York Times Book Review podcast invites writers to participate in interviews to discuss book industry news, popular books being read, and the stories behind their work, with a strong perspective and an insightful assessment of personal opinions. The Guardian Books podcast invites authors from different countries to participate in interviews, discussions, and conduct surveys, making it a great companion for readers and writers; The New Yorker's Podcast organizes a dialogue with well-known writers to discuss the magazine's past publications; The Asian Review of Books journal's eponymous podcast focuses on Asian authors and works about Asia, with topical and scholarly topics or marginal authors discussing the latest works and local current events.
The second category is libraries, radio stations, or podcasts created by individuals. For example, NPR's "NPR Book of the Day" focuses on the latest **, poetry collections, children's books, non-fiction, science fiction and other books, and listeners can listen to inspiring literary dialogues at breakfast time every day to broaden their literary horizons. The Brooklyn Public Library's "borrowed" looks for stories from the local community about the history of black women's suffrage and the library's stories, as well as librarians sharing personal stories and book recommendations; Little Atoms, a radio show-turned-radio show, interviews well-known writers and budding writers, covering different genres such as fiction and non-fiction, leaving listeners with surprises. There are also podcasts such as "Debutiful," which includes writers sharing their creative experiences and views on contemporary life, "Well-Read Black Girl," which reflects the lives of Black girls and Asian Americans, and "Books & Boba."
The third category is podcasts created by former employees of publishing houses, bookstores, and book magazines. For example, the "Penguin Podcast" talks with well-known contemporary writers or scholars about their creative processes and inspirations**; Legend Times publishing, a "Another Book Podcast" podcast, interviews authors, book reviews, and industry insiders; The Waterstone bookstore chain took advantage of the authors' event to create the Waterstone Podcast, revealing the inside stories of bestsellers and recommending new books; Barnes & Noble's "poured over" podcast relies on a huge number of subscribers on Facebook and Twitter, leading listeners through thrilling episodes, candid conversations, and introducing new works by unestablished writers; Anna James, a former book news editor at The Bookseller, launched a children's book podcast that chats with authors about their favorite children's or young adult books to attract fans.
Proofreading: Ma Kui.
Editor: Chen Lin.
Re-examination: Zhang Weite.
Final review: Song Qiang.