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E-book sales triple year-over-year, paper books decline in every category
We're sure there are still scores of lifelong book lovers whose paper tomes we can pry from their cold, dead fingers, but the evidence strongly suggests that plenty of others are rapidly warming to their shiny new e-readers. US sales of e-books generated about $90.3 million in revenue in February -- roughly triple the sales reported in the same month last year. To boot, they were the dominant format for trade titles, a category that includes adult and children's works. Meanwhile, printed books declined 34 percent and 16 percent in those respective areas, with gentler, single-digit drops for education and religious titles. That follows strong January sales and echoes what Amazon said about e-books outselling print versions two to one. To be fair, of course, February is a time of year when people who received e-readers during the holidays load 'em up with bestsellers -- you know, to keep them entertained during spring break.
From coffee table books to iPad apps: publisher ditching paper books
While many of those involved in the traditional dead-tree publishing business insist on using 15th century technology, at least one is leading the way into the 21st century. Nicholas Calloway, a successful publisher of glossy, expensive coffee-table books (including Madonna's Sex) is "betting the ranch" that apps are the future. He founded his company in 1980, but it was while watching Pixar's Toy Story in 1995 that he recognized a whole new form of storytelling that was "...going to change the world," he told Reuters. "We stopped thinking of books as the sole vehicle for our products and we thought more of core intellectual property that could be executed across many different media." Now his authors are partners in projects, not simply recipients of royalties. He's renamed his company Callaway Digital Arts, and all projects start with iPhone/iPad apps, including (amongst others) Martha Stewart Makes Cookies and The Monster at the End of This Book (for iPad). It would be great to see more publishers taking the same route but, as reader's of Joe Konrath's now famous Newbie's Guide to Publishing blog will know, most are still in love with the dead-tree business. [Via The Mac Observer]
Nicholas Callaway shifts paper-based empire to app, prays the publishing gods approve
If you've found yourself even mildly obsessed with style, art or design over the past score, there's a better-than-average chance you've got a Nicholas Callaway book on your coffee table. And it'll soon be a collector's item. The publishing monolith made his fortunes in the pages of ye old paper-based books, but it seems that he'll be paying off future mortgages with something else entirely. In a recent sit-down with Reuters, Callaway confessed to "betting the ranch" on apps, quietly stroking the capacitive touchpanel on his iPad and gazing fondly into the middle distance. For him, this is a "once in a century" revolution, where an entire industry hits a fork and is forced to continue on with an entirely new medium. Of course, Callaway is far from the only one making this shift -- we've seen legendary newspapers make similar moves, and as e-book stores continue to grow in prominence, it's a given that paperbacks will eventually give way to whatever's next. Hit the source link for the longest, most in-depth dive you'd ever dream of taking into this here topic.
Inkling signs with major publishers to bring 100 textbooks to iPad by 2012, no actual ink
Inkling is a pretty cute name for a product, you have to admit, but by the end of the year it could be pretty serious business. It's a company that specializes on publishing textbooks on the iPad, devices that are rapidly killing the poor paper industry. As of now the company's products are few, but two major publishers, Pearson and McGraw-Hill, have signed on to support the service, a deal that will see Inkling's product catalog swell by several orders of magnitude. Up to 100 books are expected to be there by the end of the year and, while that's nothing compared to the massive variety of volumes that swell students' backpacks and diminish their drinking funds at the beginning of every semester, it is a solid start. Best of all, Inkling's current texts cost 35 percent less than their printed doppelgangers, meaning there's hope for cheaper e-books after all.
En Masse signs with Atari for TERA North American retail distribution
What do En Masse Entertainment and Atari have in common? As of this morning, both entities are officially working to bring TERA to North American shores in 2011. According to a new press release, Atari has signed on as the exclusive retail distributor for the action fantasy MMO which released in Korea earlier this year. "When we first played TERA, we could see that it had all the elements of an MMO hit," said Lee Jacobson, SVP of Licensing and Digital Publishing at Atari. "Our expertise in retail marketing and bringing MMOs to market combined with TERA's obvious quality makes this a great fit for both companies." TERA was developed by Bluehole studio, with En Masse serving as both co-producer and North American publisher. The game allows players to join the Valkyon federation and fight to save it from mythical monsters and warring gods while engaging in dynamic combat that places a high premium on player skill.
Publisher starts annual e-book licensing for libraries, attempts blood extraction from stone
Public libraries are en vogue again now that e-readers and e-books are so popular, and publishers are wary of the trend. To the dismay of many and the surprise of few, HarperCollins Publishers has set its e-books to expire after 26 rentals -- effectively giving them around a one-year shelf life (assuming 2 weeks per rental x 26 = 52 weeks). So now cash-strapped public libraries have to pony up license fees on an annual basis because the publisher is concerned that "selling e-books to libraries in perpetuity, if left unchanged, would undermine the emerging e-book ecosystem." In other words, HarperCollins thinks lending e-books is costing the company money it could make selling them. The publisher is the first to treat library e-books differently from hard copies, and the policy change has caused some librarians to stop purchasing HarperCollins e-books. Should the new licensing scheme become a trend, we shall see if libraries are forced to stop the electronic lending party. [Thanks, Scott]
Google announces One Pass payment system for online content (video)
Thinking of wading into the fast paced world of publishing in the digital age, yet balking at the thirty percent cut Apple is taking for its in-app subscription model? Fret not, would-be Hearsts and Murdochs: Google One Pass is here. The PR-speak promises "an open and flexible platform" for "publishers, journalism and access to quality content." Sure, but what is it, exactly? A user authentication, payment processing, and administration system for folks who want to sell content on the web. Google only takes ten percent off the top, and you even get access to customer consumer data -- something Apple is unwilling to do. Intrigued? Check out the video after the break. Update: Also worth noting is that One Pass works across multiple sites, and it offers payments within mobile apps as well. [Thanks, John]
USA Today sees iPad app as "real positive" for industry
While many newspapers are struggling financially and trying to figure out how to move from paper and ink to digital content, it appears that Gannett's USA Today is doing quite well on the iPad. Last August, the paper was in the midst of a restructuring and cut 130 staff members. At that time, USA Today made a commitment of resources to the iPad app. Now The Telegraph is reporting that the app is turning out to be a boon to USA Today. Gracia Martore, COO of Gannett, said on Monday that "The iPad has been a real positive for USA Today," and will "translate into a much more significant improvement" in revenues. Over 1.4 million copies of the app have been downloaded since April, and at this time, the digital newspaper is still ad-supported and free. That might change in the future as competition warms up (News Corp's The Daily is set to debut tomorrow), although the ads in the app command a price about five times that of standard web ads and appear to be fueling revenue growth at the paper. USA Today's happy story is in sharp contrast to reports from many magazine publishers, who are seeing rapid declines in readership for iPad editions after initial success. Tomorrow's unveiling of The Daily will usher in an in-app subscription feature, which should eliminate publisher frustrations with the current need for readers to purchase each issue separately. Whether or not USA Today and other iPad publishers will adopt the new subscription feature is unknown, but it will make it much easier for readers to purchase and renew their subscriptions to iPad newspapers and magazines. That, in turn, should help content providers gain and keep readers for the digital editions. [via AppleInsider]
Bloggie Touch software finally becomes Mac-compatible
By this point, we suspect any owners of a Bloggie Touch and a Mac computer will have figured out their own ways to process media and share it with the world, but now they've get another option: using Sony's software designed specifically for those tasks. Yes, the streamlined editing and publishing utility that was available to Windows users from day one has at long last been made to work with Macs as well. You'll need to grab an update from Sony's site, though don't fret if you fear similar delays with future Bloggie models -- Sony promises that devices like the Bloggie 3D will have Mac-friendly software on board from the start. Video of the Bloggie Touch utility awaits after the break.
The French gain a 3D iPad Newstand
We've heard much talk of a virtual NewsStand for the iPad, but have yet to see one, until now. It seems, the French are the first to get a selection of magazines available on the iPad all from one app -- in virtual 3D, no less. Le Kiosque, by LeKiosque.fr, is a free iPad app that sells magazines via in-app purchase. According to the Le Kiosque iOS App Store description (with the aid of some nifty Google translation in tow), the app has a 3D kiosk interface with more than 400 magazines available at up to 70% off the real-world, glossy-paper equivalent. Once you've purchased your favourite mag, you can view it straight away via "streaming playback" -- no download wait times. There's also an off-line mode as well as access to archived back issues. From what we can gather (with the aid of Google Translate, once again), according to a telephone interview conducted by FRECHWEB.FR with Le Kiosque's head of marketing, Michael Philippe, two months of negotiations were held between Apple and the Le Kiosque team before the app was approved. Apparently, Le Kiosque was hoping to offer subscription-based content, but Apple refused. Where've we heard that before? Though in French, Le Kiosque is available in the US and UK iOS App Stores with some daily news content in English. Check out a video of the app in action after the break. [Via 9 to 5 Mac, FRENCHWEB.FR]
McSweeney's revamps iOS app, now universal with a bookstore
I've said before that I'm a huge fan of McSweeney's, the publishing group founded by author Dave Eggers. The company has had an iPhone app for a while, but it recently updated to a universal version, so now all of that great content (from daily posts to various blogs, books, and the eponymous quarterly) is available to read on the iPad any time you want. The app is set up on a subscription basis, so the original purchase of $6.99 gets you access to six months of daily content from the company, plus "semi-eternal delivery" of material from the website (which is publicly available anyway). There's also an ebook store in the new version of the app, where you can buy any books the company has published, at prices from $6 to $15. All together, that may sound like a little much compared to some other apps, but compared to actual print books, that's still cheap, and all of McSweeney's ebooks are manually designed and typeset for the format, which is pretty cool. Good to see that McSweeney's is improving its iOS presence -- the App Store's a great place for smaller publishing houses like this one to find a bigger audience, I think.
QVS to distribute RIFT in Australia
The global distribution picture for Trion Worlds' RIFT MMORPG just got a bit clearer thanks to an announcement made by the developer earlier today. Trion signed a multi-year retail deal with QVS, a renowned publisher in both Australia and New Zealand. Thanks to the new agreement, Kiwis and Aussies alike will be saying g'day to RIFT's dynamic content, familiar class-based gameplay, and lush graphics along with the rest of the world when the title launches in early 2011. "We are excited to join forces with QVS to bring RIFT to gamers throughout Australia and New Zealand. Working with QVS allows us to expand our commitment to deliver quality games to gamers worldwide," says Trion's David Reid.
Apple, publishers still debating magazine subscriptions
There's yet another standoff between Apple and established media companies. While Apple and the recording industry seem to have finally reached something approaching détente if not peace, magazine publishing companies are still wary about letting Apple become the ultimate power in their universe. Apple is offering the same deal for magazines that they offer for books and app developers: you get 70% of the profits, we take 30% to take care of billing, downloads, etc. Magazine publishers want more: namely, they want access to customer information, especially tidbits like credit card information and email addresses. It's safe to say that app developers would like that too, especially the email addresses. According to AllThingsD, that offer has been "on the table for a couple of months," but no publisher has bitten yet. There are a variety of publishers trying different things, but mostly they seem to be waiting for Android tablets to be released so they can exert some market pressure on Apple. To which I say: good luck with that. I suspect that the only real pressure will be similar to what we've seen with audiobooks and music files. Audible.com puts DRM on their files, but they are playable on just about any device you can imagine (I even have a voice recorder that supports Audible playback). Amazon's music store is the only significant challenger to the iTunes Music Store, and that only happened because they provided DRM-free MP3s, something Apple had wanted to offer for some time. The music industry finally conceded the lack of DRM in return for Apple's willingness to give "flexible pricing," which resulted in higher prices for most songs that you'd actually want to buy. While magazine publishers either roll their own apps or wait it out, more and more readers will find content to read on the devices they already own, and if that isn't the content magazine publishers are selling, they'll find something else. Personally, since the creation of Instapaper the idea of a magazine subscription strikes me as quaint. I find more content than I can read already, just through Twitter and Tumblr.
Trion answers Ubisoft-related questions about Rift
With Rift's closed beta starting this Friday, an early 2011 launch date is looking likely. In service of that, Trion Worlds is busily getting its house in order and gearing up to push the fantasy epic live around the world. Earlier today Massively reported on Trion's announcement that gaming megalith Ubisoft would be publishing the upcoming MMORPG in Europe. The Ubisoft name-drop brought to light some reader concerns about the draconian DRM schemes the publisher is (in)famous for, so we decided to go straight to the source to clear things up. Join us after the cut for an impromptu interview with Trion Worlds Senior VP of Publishing David Reid.
Ubisoft to shoulder Rift's European publishing
With Rift's launch looming closer by the day, forces are coming into play faster now than ever before. Trion Worlds has announced that it is partnering with Ubisoft to publish Rift in Europe. Ubisoft, which has studios in countries all across the globe, will be tasked with releasing the game in France, Benelux, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the Nordics. This deal includes multiple years of service starting in 2011. While Ubisoft has handled smaller MMOs, such as Might and Magic Heroes Kingdom, Rift represents the largest MMO client to date for the company. Trion Worlds' CEO Lars Buttler sees this as a great move for the game: "To join forces with an industry leader such as Ubisoft on our first title further demonstrates the potential Rift has to be a game-changer in the online gaming space. We are thrilled to be working with Ubisoft, one of world's leading publishers, as we reaffirm our commitment to deliver quality products to gamers around the world." While Ubisoft is not without its fair share of controversies, no one can deny that the publisher has clout across the market. Rift's closed beta starts later this week, and all signs still point toward an early 2011 release.
Imageepoch launches 'JRPG' publishing label
Imageepoch, developer of RPGs like Luminous Arc and Sands of Destruction, announced a move into publishing at a press event in Tokyo today. The company detailed the first three games to be published under this new "JRPG" label, the first of which will be a strategy RPG for PSP, called Saigo no Yakusoku no Monogatari, or "Final Promise Story" -- yes, an "FPS" by JRPG. Imageepoch CEO Ryoei Mikage said that game is being designed around the concept of permanent character death (so the story changes if and when you lose a character). Final Promise Story has been dated for release in Japan on April 28, 2011. Later in 2011, Imageepoch will release another PSP RPG, this one based on the Black Rock Shooter anime, and then will come Chevalier Saga Tactics -- first as a free-to-play PC game, then later as a mobile and PS3 release (Imageepoch's first HD effort). In addition to these three games, Imageepoch teased four more projects, including a Type-Moon collaboration and a remake of a classic PC game; announced plans to work on smartphone apps; and confirmed that it will continue to develop for other publishers even as it self-publishes some titles. Currently, Imageepoch is working on a game for Sega, which will be assisting with distribution of the "JRPG" releases. Trailers for the first three JRPG ... RPGs are posted after the break.
NaturalMotion moving into publishing, naturally
Developer NaturalMotion, perhaps best known for its Morpheme and Euphoria middleware, has announced that it will begin publishing games digitally, beginning with a couple of iOS projects. According to GI.biz, Jenga and Backbreaker 2: Vengeance (really -- that's the subtitle for a football game?) will be the first products out of the company's new publishing division. The developer's first Backbreaker game has been reportedly downloaded over three million times from the App Store, offering a solid clue as to why NaturalMotion is moving in this new direction. "We believe there is a significant opportunity in combining the ease of use and connectivity of social games with the stunning performance of modern devices such iOS, Android and consoles," said CEO Torsten Reil. According to the NaturalMotion website, Jenga for iOS will be the publisher's inaugural release this holiday.
Publishers leery of doing business with Apple
ABCi, the interactive media arm of the Audit Bureau of Circulations, has issued a new report showing that American and Canadian publishers feel that mobile technology is very important to their futures. As a result, many of these publishers are working on making content available on mobile phones, tablets, and e-reader devices. The report, covered in Poynter Online, shows that a full 60% of respondents feel that making a mixture of ad-supported free content and premium paid content available to consumers is the best way to succeed in the mobile market. With publishers finally waking up to the fact that the world has gone electronic, ABCi reports that Apple is expected to be the mobile device manufacturer with the most impact on the publishing industry in the next year. But the picture isn't all that rosy. Most of ABCi's respondents felt that Apple's iTunes business model and the lack of solid analytics available from Apple were a bad way to do business. Only 19% of those surveyed said that they were satisfied with the iTunes app business model, and a paltry 11% were satisfied with the analytics and customer data that Apple shares with publishers. The report points out that the big prize is Apple's to win, but that the company also needs to consider drastically changing its publishing business model before publishers will be happy. What do you think? Should Apple cater to the whims of traditional publishers in order to snap up the mobile publishing market, or is it the stodgy publishers that should change to fit the Apple model? Leave a comment below. [Thanks to @steverubel for the Twitter tip]
GameSalad announces GameSalad Direct, publishing model outside of Apple's dev program
We've posted about GameSalad here before -- the company offers up a third-party development and publishing solution that allows anyone, even non-coders, to jump into the GS SDK, make a game, and then quickly publish it out to the web or platforms like Apple's App Store. The company has been narrowing its focus recently after a round of funding -- last week at GDC, it announced that the Gendai Games brand was no more, and instead it would be consolidating everything under the name "GameSalad." This week GameSalad continued in that focus with a service called GameSalad Direct. Previously, developers could pay a fee to simply remove GameSalad's branding from apps created with the software, and sell those apps on the App Store under their own Apple developer accounts. That will still work for GameSalad developers for now, but when those accounts expire, everything will move to GameSalad Direct, which instead will either be free for devs publishing free games, or part of a revenue share for publishers wanting to sell paid apps. That means GameSalad game devs won't use their own Apple accounts any more -- presumably, everything created by GameSalad in the store will need to be published under the GameSalad banner. That has raised some hackles on GameSalad's forums, and Apple might not be too happy with it either (since if developers do sign with GameSalad, that's potentially a lost developer connection). We've contacted GameSalad to get some more information on the change and an official perspective on the reaction to the news.
Rumor: Apple will announce newspaper subscription plan
Mercury News is reporting that Apple will soon announce a plan for subscribing to newspapers with the iPad. While Apple did not comment, the Mercury News speculated on Apple's deal with Roger Fidler, head of digital publishing at the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute. Fidler believes that Apple will take up to a 30% cut of subscriptions on top of 40% of ad revenue. In exchange, the newspapers' developers will be allowed to provide customers with a way to share statistics on just who they are. The opt-in feature will allow Apple to share user demographic data with the publishers, which they could then direct towards their marketing efforts. "[Publishers] want the data of their customers so they can integrate it into their circulation database so they know who their customers are," said Fidler. It's all speculation, so don't get excited just yet. Time, Inc. has recently been frustrated with their attempts to implement a mutually-agreeable subscription model in the App Store, and part of their complaint was over retrieving the very data speculated on by Fidler. [Via MacDailyNews]
