App Development

Encyclopedia of Classical Music’s Marketing Campaign Off on a Good Note
May 1, 2006

Workman Publishing’s release of “The NPR Listener’s Encyclopedia of Classical Music” marks the culmination of author Ted Libbey’s 11-year odyssey. Libbey, known at one time to classical music fans and listeners of National Public Radio (NPR) as the station’s commentator on the popular “Performance Today” program, is one of the country’s most distinguished classical music critics. The book aims to be the classical music fan’s do-it-all resource—from educating readers on different terms, styles and genres to providing Libbey’s musical criticisms. Most notable, however, is the interactive element: Buyers are given a password that gives them access to a special Web site—run by Naxos, a

Digital Catalogs: Tomorrow’s New Trend?
May 1, 2006

Book publishers have used catalogs to sell their titles for many years. However, in this digital age, the advent of digital catalogs would seem to be a foregone conclusion, especially as many magazines launch digital counterparts. These digital editions—more than Web sites featuring content—actually mimic the print publications, some even creating a visual page-turning experience. According to those in the digital catalog business, there may be as many as a dozen vendors offering book publishers the ability to recreate the look-and-feel of their print catalogs in digital form. Still, the concept has yet to become a sweeping trend. In fact, some solutions providers

A Step-by-Step, SeamlessOnline Integration
May 1, 2006

Imagine you’re a medical student and, like all students, you’re facing major textbook expenses. Enter Thieme Medical Publishers Inc., New York, a unit of Thieme International. Last year, this 27-year-old medical textbook publisher put its books for medical students online and is using the Internet to grow its business. The publisher wants to triple or quadruple its revenue from this market segment over the next three years, says Brian Scanlan, managing director of Thieme International, a division of the Stuttgard, Germany-based Thieme Publishing Group, founded in 1886. While the Thieme Publishing Group is a $150 million company, Scanlan declined to disclose revenue contributions and market share

ref•er•ence pub•lish•ing n :industry segment faced with dramatic change
May 1, 2006

It used to be that an encyclopedia salesman knocked on your door in hopes of selling you the latest 12-volume series of books brimming with factual information about everything from binary cell division to Benjamin Franklin. And your only option for finding the definition of onomatopoeia used to be to lug the dictionary off the shelf and thumb through its pages. Those days are, to some extent, history. As a result, reference publishers face significant challenges—reflected in a significant drop in new titles released in 2005—as they strive to adapt to new trends in the market. Paul Kobasa, editor in chief for World

‘Harry Potter’ Author Agrees to Digital Publication for iPod
February 1, 2006

In a May 27, 2005, article called “Put Away the iPod: ‘Harry Potter’ Unlikely as a Download,” The Wall Street Journal reported that the “Harry Potter” novels were not likely to become available for downloading. The primary reason: author J.K. Rowling’s previous experiences with unauthorized digital publication of her novels. In the article, Rowling cautioned readers to distrust any ‘Harry Potter’ e-books offered for download on the Internet. Today, however, it is a different story. The entire “Harry Potter” series became available for download on the iTunes Music Store in fall 2005. Ironically, the reason Rowling, who plans to write the final book in the

BB_0206_HARPER.COLLINS.DIGITAL
February 1, 2006

In a May 27, 2005, article called “Put Away the iPod: ‘Harry Potter’ Unlikely as a Download,” The Wall Street Journal reported that the “Harry Potter” novels were not likely to become available for downloading. The primary reason: author J.K. Rowling’s previous experiences with unauthorized digital publication of her novels. In the article, Rowling cautioned […]

Industry Groups Review Exemptions to Digital Copyright Rules
February 1, 2006

December marked the opening of the third round of the triennial rule-making process mandated by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). The DMCA was established in 1998 to encourage investment in new means of digital distribution of software, movies, books, sound recordings, video games and other works protected by copyright. The rule-making process is a period where copyright industry groups can review and respond to proposals for temporary exemptions from the provision of the DMCA, which prohibits the circumvention of technologies used to control access to copyrighted materials. The industry groups are comprised of the Association of American Publishers, the Business Software Alliance, the

HarperCollins to Create Its Own Digital Library
December 14, 2005

New York -- HarperCollins Publishers plans to create a digital warehouse for all of its content and will issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) this month as part of an effort to develop the necessary technical infrastructure to broadly exploit its content digitally. The plan is the first step in satisfying the demands of the marketplace, which is increasingly requiring that content be made available online and in numerous formats, while allowing the publisher to remain in control of its digital files and intellectual property. "In keeping with our commitment to be a 21st century publisher, our content needs to be

Amazon to Offer Online Access to Books
November 7, 2005

Amazon plans to launch two services aimed at promoting the sale and use of e-books. Amazon Pages gives readers the ability to purchase a few pages or entire chapters of a given title in e-book format, while Amazon Upgrade will allow the online retailer's customers to upgrade the purchase of a bound-book copy to include an e-book version. Amazon Pages allows its customers electronic access "to any page, section or chapter of a book as well as [purchasing] the book in its entirety," according to a company press release. www.Amazon.com

Random House Inc. Announces New Model for Online Book Viewing
November 7, 2005

New York--Random House Inc., the world's largest trade book publisher, announced today its intent to work with online booksellers, search engines, entertainment portals and other appropriate vendors to offer the contents of its books to consumers for online viewing on a pay-per-page-view basis. Random House recognizes that digital search, display, and distribution will be increasingly important for books over time, and that while readers will want digital access in various formats, publishers and authors must be properly compensated and protected as such markets develop. Random House, Inc. will negotiate separate agreements with vendors in this arena, but has outlined some key components for each