If growth is still limited, everything is ready for the digital book starts in Brazil. Since 5 December 2012, the various actors positioned themselves: Google, Kobo, Amazon, while Apple had taken the lead in October, starting to commercialize Portuguese ebooks. For its part, Livraria Saraiva began in 2010 its offer. Today? The influx is dense.
Willing to embrace the digital age of the book?
Stefano Olmi, CC BY NC SA 2.0
Between 2012 and the end of 013, the supply of ebooks exploded: + 400% with sales weighed to 2.5% publishing turnover. Expectations in 2014 were up to these promises, but only 3.5% of sales were digital. One then wonders, but without panic.
With 30% of the market from Amazon, Apple 25%, and 20% Saraiva, the leading trio landed; Google and Kobo recover 15% and 5%, respectively. And if there are crumbs again, competitors are able to share.
Meanwhile, 9.5 million tablets were sold in 2014 and 47 million smartphones. What let consider that things are structured, obviously. Android have 90% market share, but in all cases, the owners of iOS devices have more purchasing power. Paradox, among others.
If no offer to libraries n ‘ exists because OverDrive has not yet passionate for the Portuguese book market, the consortium Distribuidora Livros Digitais works hard. Bringing together seven major Brazilian publishers, he manages to frame the negotiations, preventing Amazon to offer more than 5% to 10% discount on their catalogs. But its distribution network is still limited.
As we pointed out, the absence – not blame discussions – a law clearly setting the Book Trade Policy in Brazil poses serious problems. The market decides the comings and goings. An obstacle to development, since for the digital book, the conditions are just a bit more complicated in this case. The legality of the agency agreement envisaged is far from completely unanimous.
The last problem, through education: educational publishers, not seeing the market take off, do not invest in digital educational resources. QED: the chicken or the egg, the important thing is that everyone looks in the egg yolk. The government accounts for 25% of sales in this sector – for the purchase of books.
All this is not impossible to overcome, of course : slow progress do not mean anything that the market does not go up either.
After all, we must see in this story, a certain image of Brazilian market. On May 22, a Boeing 737 landed at Santos Dumont, Rio de Janeiro. With a very short track and known for this, forcing the airport to brake suddenly. This time, the pilot said: “ Dear passengers a Kindle aircraft slid to the front of the aircraft during our landing. Please, check if it is your own. “(via Publishers Weekly)
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