The e-book market in the United States has been fairly stable in the last two years, but in the United Kingdom it is a different story. The UK Publishers Association is reporting that print revenues dropped 5% to £2.7 billion and e-book revenues rose by 11% to £563 million. This means that e-books now account for 35% of the overall book market, which is staggering.
How many parents are forging print books and giving their child a tablet or e-reader? The exact figure is subject to interpretation, but there is no denying the fact that digital children’s books are up 36%.
“It is great to see digital growth continuing and developing in more sectors of publishing. The rise in children’s digital sales, while perhaps unsurprising given 71 percent of households now own a tablet, is testament to the innovation taking place in children’s publishing and the engaging content being produced,” said Richard Mollet, Chief Executive of the UK Publishers Association in a release.
At the end of the day, print continues to be the overwhelming popular choice when it comes to reading textbooks, kids books and novels. Digital though, is on the rise and with good reason. Amazon currently controls 95% of the e-book market in the UK, which means they are reaping the lion share of the £563 million.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.