Ebook Market Exploding in Wake of E-Reader Popularity
By Anna Johnson on March 16th, 2010Internet marketers have been selling ebooks for years, but now ebooks – particularly those published by major publishing houses and designed for Amazon’s Kindle and other e-reader hardware devices – are really taking off, with mainstream ebook sales estimated at just under $170 million in 2009.
According to the Association of American Publishers (AAP), ebook sales have steadily grown over the past decade, but have soared in recent years. The AAP estimates that U.S. net sales to its 85 member publishers totaled a record $169.5 million in 2009, up 176.5 percent from the 2008 figure of $61.3 million.
Paul Verna, eMarketer senior analyst and author of the new report, ‘Paid E-Publishing Content: Books, Newspapers and Magazines’ says most ebook sales are for Amazon’s Kindle device but notes that:
“it is unlikely that Amazon.com will be able to hold on to such a dominant market as ebook pricing becomes more competitive and more complicated.”
Will digital versions of newspapers and magazines enjoy a similar sales trajectory on the Kindle, iPad, Nook or other e-readers? That’s not so clear.
Paul Verna points to many studies showing Internet users to be unwilling to pay for news content (i.e. which they can obtain online for free elsewhere).
My prediction is that some paid magazines will find a home on e-readers. Ironically, the glossy, photography/imagery based magazines that have somewhat resisted online competition will be the ones to either thrive or barely survive in light of e-reader development.
They may not look any good on Amazon’s black and white Kindle, but if Apple’s iPad and later e-reader models reach their high definition potential, we may find them being ideal for displaying the kinds of stunning photography and imagery we typically see in fashion, design and other photography based magazines.
Source: eMarketer, “Will Paid Content Put Publishing Back in the Black?” eMarketer, March 9, 2010
