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Digital Publishing News
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Good e-Reader gives you the inside scoop on the entire digital publishing industry. Since 2007 we have been the leading news agency devoted to audiobooks, ebooks, manga, magazines and newspapers.
Bertelsmann is considering a bid for Simon & Schuster
Bertelsmann is the parent company of Penguin Random House, and this year they own 100% of the company, after they bought out the stake Pearson had in it. Penguin Random House is responsible for almost half of all books published in the world, on a yearly basis. When Viacom and CBS merged, in late 2019, the company said that Simon & Schuster was “not a core asset. It is not video-based. It does not have significant connection for our broader business,” said ViacomCBS CEO Bob Bakish. “We have had multiple unsolicited inbound calls about that asset, and so as the market stabilizes, we are going to engage in a process” to examine strategic alternatives. ViacomCBS said publishing revenue in 2019 came to $814 million, down 1.3% from $825 million in the prior year.
Apple is planning on bundling subscription services
Apple is planning on unveiling a new tiered approach to subscriptions, by offering bundles. It is likely they will be announced in October, along with new iPhone and iPad models. The bundles, dubbed “Apple One” are designed to encourage customers to subscribe to more Apple services, which will generate more recurring revenue.
Simon & Schuster ebook sales increased by 51%
Simon & Schuster has just recorded their second quarter financial results for April, May and June 2020. The publisher reported that there was a 51% increase in ebook sales and a 34% increase in sales of physical audiobook. CEO Jonathan Karp said that there is “no reason to believe the new consumer behavior will change any time soon.” And while that will likely keep online sales strong, brick-and-mortar stores remain vital.
Wattpad logins and passwords have been stolen
Wattpad the self-publishing platform that is read by millions of readers every month, has experienced a data breach. Their database with over 270 million user records have been stolen and is being sold on blackmarket websites for over $100,000 USD. This is a serious blow to the Toronto company, as they are one of the top 150 websites in North America. The Wattpad community collectively spend 15 billion minutes each month using Wattpad. There are over 400 million story uploads on the platform.
How does Kobo Plus Pay Canadian Publishers?
Each month, Kobo takes the total revenue earned from Kobo Plus subscriptions. They also take the total minutes that all subscribers spent reading that month. Then, they divide the Monthly Revenue by the Minutes Read, which allows them to assign a monetary value to each minute of reading (let’s call it Value per Minute Consumed). This value will fluctuate month to month based on subscriber number and total reading time.
