Association of American Publishers

1DollarScan Celebrates its 2nd Anniversary in March
March 4, 2013

1DollarScan, an innovative service offering the world’s most affordable and advanced book scanning technology, celebrates its Second Anniversary since its launch and continues to emphasize its innovative book scanning service available for U.S. readers. In honor of its Second Anniversary, 1DollarScan is offering a Buy-One-Get-One-Free campaign for all new users. For a limited time, all orders purchased by new users only, will be matched with a free coupon of equal value. For more details, please visit http://1dollarscan.com/campaign/2yearanniversary.php

Bookstats 2013, the U.S. Publishing Industry's Definitive Annual Survey, To Offer Analysis by Outsell; Bowker Renewed for Statistical Results
February 21, 2013

Production is now underway on the 2013 edition of BookStats, recognized as the most comprehensive survey of the size and scope of the US publishing industry, it was announced by the Association of American Publishers and the Book Industry Study Group. BISG and AAP, the survey’s co-producers, also announced that Outsell, the leading research and advisory firm for the information and publishing industries, has joined the project to provide editorial analysis and Bowker, a premier source of market research on publishing and books in all formats, will again produce the extrapolated results.

AAP Announces Speakers and Topics for Its Annual Meeting, February 28
January 28, 2013

With a focus on “Innovative Solutions for Historic Challenges,” the Association of American Publishers 2013 General Annual Meeting will feature speakers who are addressing longstanding industry issues with new strategies that are creative, novel, sometimes provocative and always thoughtful. AAP’s annual event will be held on Thursday, February 28 at the McGraw-Hill Conference Center, 1221 Avenue of the Americas, 9:00am-1:00pm.  General registration here (Media details below)

Ebook Growth Continues Slowdown Through August 2012, Children’s up ‘Only’ 50%, Adult 34%
December 4, 2012

Ebook growth continued to slow slightly across the book trade in August as children’s ebooks retreated from an early year surge that saw the segment up in triple digits. Children’s ebook sales only grew by about 50% in August; ebooks sales for adult trade books was up 34%, according to the latest numbers from the Association of American Publishers.

Despite the slowdown, year-to-date growth numbers for children’s ebooks remain strong at 196% to $177 million.

What Can Publishers Learn from Indie Rock?
November 16, 2012

On Scholarly Kitchen today is a post after my own heart, "What Can Publishers Learn from Indie Rock?" Michael Clarke talks about the tactile joys of music on vinyl, while  noting that indie bands that sell their wares via the anachronistic medium almost always include a digital version, either a CD or a download code.

Quoth Clarke: "What indie rock bands have figured out is that the purchase of music does not have to be an either/or proposition. They don’t make their customers choose between analog or digital."

—Brian Howard

Publishers' task to unlock ebook market
November 12, 2012

As we mentioned yesterday, the marketplace of ideas around what the Random House/Penguin merger all means is heating up. The Financial Times' Robert Cookson looks at bigness vs. smallness and might vs. agility as competing strategies for success in an increasingly digital world. In smallness' corner is indie house Salt Publishing's Christopher Hamilton-Emery:

“I don’t think big necessarily means better." The rise of digital publishing, he argues, is likely to lead to an “explosion” of smaller, more focused publishers that can harness technology to establish relationships directly with consumers. —Brian Howard

Ignore the Doomsayers: The Book Industry Is Actually Adapting Well
October 26, 2012

Numbers show that the publishing industry is handling the rise of e-readers better than what folk knowledge might suggest.

The fall publishing season is in full swing. There can hardly have been a year with more luminaries atop both the fiction and nonfiction bestseller lists; J. K. Rowling, Michael Chabon, Ken Follett, Junot Diaz, among others, represent literary acclaim and commercial appeal. Diaz is having an especially good run. Stephen Colbert, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Neil Young, Bob Woodward, and Salman Rushdie are just a sampling of the nonfiction bestsellers.

Writers Slam Secrecy of Book Publishers’ Deal with Google
October 10, 2012

National writers’ organizations representing authors of books in a variety of genres believe a secret deal between Google and major book publishers may encourage Google to digitize, use, and sell copyrighted books illegally. The writers groups ask the Department of Justice to review whether the terms of the secret deal may violate Federal antitrust law.

Google and the Association of American Publishers (AAP) announced October 4 that they had signed a settlement agreement that means the publishers no longer are litigants in an ongoing suit against Google for copyright violations.

A Google Book Deal Is Good for Everyone—Except Maybe Amazon
October 9, 2012

It’s possible there was some cheering at Google (GOOG) last week, when the search giant announced a deal with the Association of American Publishers over its book-scanning project. But it’s more likely there was just an overwhelming sense of relief, since the deal amounts to a truce in what has been a grueling seven-year battle. For almost a decade now, Google has been trying to scan and digitize as many books as it can, but it’s been stymied by lawsuits from the AAP and the Authors Guild, who claim the scanning process amounts to copyright infringement.

Google-Publisher Deal Ignores Elephant In The Room: Fair Use
October 8, 2012

On Thursday, Google and five publishers settled a long-standing legal battle over whether scanning university-library books and using snippets in search results can be done without the permission of copyright holders. While the agreement lets Google continue its work, both sides deliberately avoided tackling the issue at the heart of the conflict: What does fair use mean in the digital age?

Fair Use an exception to the copyright law that gives authors exclusive rights over their creative works. In passing the limitation, Congress tried to balance the rights of copyright holders with the need of academia