Please note: This document contains privileged information and is for
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IPG Tech Round-up –10 top tech trends for publishers
February 2017
By IPG board member Alison Jones
Your monthly bite-sized update on the stories and trends shaping the world of
digital publishing.
1. Microsoft’s digital bookstore
Last year Microsoft added epub support to Edge, its new default
browser, and now they’ve released screenshots of the new ebook
section in the Windows Store, alongside music, apps and games. Once
you’ve bought a book, you simply open it in the browser. It’s expected
to go live as part of the Creators Update in April, with around 1 million
titles at launch.
See more: https://mspoweruser.com/first-look-windows-10s-upcomingstore-e-books/
2. Amazon climbs down over ebook pricing
After a European Commission investigation concluding that Amazon’s
ebook contracts were an abuse of its dominant market position,
specifically the controversial Most Favoured Nation (MFN) clause
which required publishers to offer Amazon equivalent terms to any new
deals they put in place with other partners, Amazon has offered to
rescind the clause for five years. There’s a cautious welcome from
publishers, but also concern over the limited term of the offer and the
fact that the UK may no longer be included in it once it’s outside the
EU.
See more: http://www.thebookseller.com/news/book-trade-cautiouslywelcomes-amazons-new-e-book-deal-475601
3. The 99¢ ebook loan
Google has been experimenting for a while now with cheap ebook
loans: last year Google Play partnered with HarperCollins on a pilot
with selected YA books, and this year they’re extending the experiment
with Harlequin. For 99¢ you can access one of the featured ebooks for
a period of 24 hours (a model previously seen in academic publishing
as pay-per-view rental). No time to sleep: got to finish this bodice-ripper
by 6am…
See more: http://goodereader.com/blog/e-book-news/google-playhopes-renting-ebooks-will-gain-them-more-customers
4. Pearson’s digital push
Another company trying out cheap rental models is Pearson, which
released a profit warning in January after sharp declines in revenues.
The company has announced it will cut ebook rental prices by 50% and
Please note: This document contains privileged information and is for
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launch its own print rental programme to compete with commercial
rental companies in the US. Pearson are framing this as a move to
focus on digital and manage the decline of their print portfolio.
See more: http://www.thebookseller.com/news/pearson-slash-e-bookrental-prices-50-digital-push-472356
5. Audible and Apple break up
Since launch, the iBooks store has offered Audible digital audio books
exclusively to its users (and remember, Audible = Amazon). Following
pressure from the European Commission, spearheaded by Germany,
this exclusivity has been terminated, and now Apple can – theoretically
at least – take audiobooks from any provider. Michael Kozlowski
makes the point that in practice there are technological constraints, but
with digital audio continuing to outperform all other formats, it’s a
significant move towards a more open marketplace.
See more: http://goodereader.com/blog/audiobooks/apple-to-endexclusivity-with-audible-for-audiobooks
6. Macmillan partners with NYPL
We’re used to university libraries partnering closely with university
presses, but this collaboration between the New York Public Library
and Macmillan is an interesting experiment. Macmillan are launching a
series of children’s books based on library content, such as a
storybook featuring its famous lions, and an adult list of print and
ebooks ‘drawing from and inspired by’ the library’s collections. The
NYPL has a unique digital archive, and the key to this partnership is
library president Tony Marx’s description of the deal as ‘a new,
wonderful way to share our collections and celebrate the role of
libraries with the public’. Ebooks as vehicles of national treasures.
See more: https://www.nypl.org/press/press-release/december-132016/new-york-public-library-and-macmillan-launch-publishing
7. Shelfie shuts up shop
Shelfie, the app that allowed you to upload pictures of your bookshelf
and get discounted or even free ebook and audiobook versions of the
books you own in print, has closed down. Formerly known as BitLit, the
company was one of the most promising publishing startups of recent
years, with support from over 2,000 publishers. The company ceased
trading on 31 January, meaning users simply lost access to any DRMprotected books they’d purchased (and others if they hadn’t got round
to downloading them within the sub-24-hour notice period). Kobo rode
to the rescue, offering to support downloads until the end of February
(and scoop up the userbase along the way, of course), but it’s an
unpleasant reminder for readers that digital ‘purchases’ depend on
platform permanence.
Please note: This document contains privileged information and is for
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See more: https://publishingperspectives.com/2017/01/canada-shelfiebitlit-closing-service/
8. Start-up round-up
For more on the state of publishing start-ups generally (in the US, at
least), there’s a useful free report by Thad McIlroy at The Future of
Publishing. It’s sobering reading but highlights the direction of
innovation and offers some indications of what is working and where
we’re heading.
See more: http://thefutureofpublishing.com/2017/01/an-authoritativelook-at-book-publishing-startups/
9. What’s Google up to?
Where better to go for a glimpse into the future than Google Labs? The
Google Brain Team (strapline: ‘Make machines intelligent. Improve
people’s lives.’) has published an accessible roundup of its bleedingedge research in 2016 on the Google Research Blog. Their key areas
of interest, according to this, are: machine learning (several projects
relating to this), natural language processing, robotics, supporting
healthcare, working on the governance of AI, and, intriguingly, ‘Music
and Art Generation’.
See more: https://research.googleblog.com/2017/01/the-google-brainteam-looking-back-on.html
10. Creative AI
It’s not just Google that’s exploring the role of computers in creativity.
Sony has announced it will release an album of music from an artificial
intelligence composer, and we’ve already reported in last year’s Digital
Digest that an AI-authored novel was shortlisted for a literary award in
Japan. Wired has a fascinating article on the trend and some of the key
projects.
See more: http://www.wired.co.uk/article/trend-decoder-ai-generatedartworks