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Surely publishers are in business to make money, as much as they can, in whatever way they can. Like all businesses, they have to adapt to change. Whilst I as an individual may not matter to any of them, publishers cannot afford to ignore all their customers collectively. I imagine, somewhere in-between an individual and their customer base, there will be a critical mass of customers whose opinions do matter to publishers. Yes, publishers could choose to ignore the opinions of that critical mass, just as they could choose to ignore change and refuse to adapt. However, I expect they will try to do what they need to, to remain in business.
I remember there were similar discussions, a few years ago when people were still using film cameras. When digital cameras arrived, some photography die-hards maintained they would never catch on. Digital cameras virtually became an an overnight success. Those companies that chose to adapt to changing technology are still in business today. Some people still use film cameras, but there are fewer of them. Whilst the analogy with ebooks and readers obviously is not quite the same, I see some similarities in the dilemmas that publishers are having to face.
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