Quote:
Originally Posted by Fbone
Please, don't put words in my mouth. Thank you. This is what I said.
Not just entertainment. Although, it does stand to reason the more hours spent viewing tv and movies is less time reading. The more hours people work is less time reading, etc. There is only 24 hrs in one day.
I don't care for absolutes without specific data which we lack.
We know that ebooks sales from 1200 publishers are down 9.3%. Most of the 1200 are small/med indie presses not on Agency. Since the reported losses from the BPHs are less than 9.3 it means that the other pubs are having more significant revenue losses. We don't know the reasons.
Regarding the $200 million- that's 8 months of 50 Shades' sales. We didn't have one of those recently. Speaking of which has PRH released any numbers? The have Grey and the latest Dr Seuss. Last year PRH had major sales increases and profits to the point where all US employees received a bonus. The year end report said they sold 100 million digital books in 2014. I think they're fine.
I agree with those that said Overdrive/library is having an effect. The paperback buyers are switching to low cost ebooks, maybe KU. Price reductions from the BPH. The #1 bestseller is a Penguin book for $6.99. Perhaps, that is the sweet spot and they will experiment with that. Plus, all the factors I previously stated.
Personally, I am reading and buying less than previous years, 41 books down to 25. I now spend more on movies and tv shows than ebooks. I guess I'm contributing to ebook losses but adding to Netflix's record revenue/profits.
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Now, now, now, get with the program. The point is to bash the evil BHP and praise the saintly Amazon, not to look at the facts, or lack of facts. What we have is a lot of estimates and guesses which we are comparing to previous years' estimates and guesses. Those with the fact aren't really talking except in gross terms.
My personal buying has been fairly steady since the 80's when I got out of school. As you say, there is only so much time in a day and work takes up a significant slice that I use to spend reading when I was a teen. I do find that I'm buying more audiobooks since it's become so easy to listen to them while driving or doing mundane tasks at work. One author's blog that I read pointed out that audiobooks have become a significant revenue stream for him. Those figures aren't considered either.