UK book publishers have called on ministers to support the growth of the country’s £11bn industry with tax cuts and policies to encourage exports. The Publishers Association, which represents the interest of HarperCollins, Bloomsbury, Pearson, Pan Macmillan and Penguin Random House, has conducted research about the value of publishing. The Publishers Association said that the government could add billions to the industry and tens of thousands of jobs with policies to support the sector.
The publishing industry is seeing strong growth in the UK. Genres from fantasy novels to mind-blowing crime stories, have underpinned booming sales. But many in the industry are worried about threats like artificial intelligence that can imitate or duplicate copyrighted works.
Dan Conway, Publishers Association chief executive, said:
“With an election on the horizon later this year, we ask politicians on all sides to recognise the publishing industry’s economic value to the UK. We must ensure we work together to grow UK publishing’s economic and social contribution.”
The association said that the government has to ensure AI helped the whole economy and that its development did not come at the expense of intellectual property and human creativity. It called on ministers to vigorously uphold the UK’s globally advantageous intellectual property and copyright framework.
Other policies proposed included publishing export support for companies in the UK to market and sell their books around the world. Publishing exports were already worth £6.5bn to the UK economy, it said.
It also called on the government to axe audiobook and article and book processing charges, publication fees that is the “final tax on reading”, and to invest in libraries and literacy.
Research conducted by public policy consultancy Public First for the Publishers Association forecast that such support could help the industry add an additional £5.6bn to the UK economy by 2033 and support a further 43,000 jobs. International demand for UK publishing is set to grow a further 20 per cent in the next decade, it said.
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