J201Introduction to mass communicationBooksWhat’s the best book to read?(How would you measure or decide?)Measuring the value of books•Sales by form and genre (hardback fiction)•Sales by audience segment (religion, kids)•Future orders and excitement •Library ownership (o rcheck-ins and check-outs)•Critical ratings•Popular polling•Social networks and social similarityBooks as a form of mass communication•mass media of the publishing industry•mass audience of readers and their social contexts•mass communication social processes and purposesBooks as mass mediaBooks and a mass audienceBooks and mass communicationdivision of laborin the publishing industry•authors•publishers•wholesalers/distributors•retailers•lots and lots and lots of authors•royalties of 10% - 15% on price to retailer•but retailer price is discounted 40% - 50% from cover price•example: publisher sells $20 book to retailer for $10, author getting 10% royalty earns $1 per book authors•about 25,000 US publishers•only 3,300 of these publish more than two titles per year•low “barrier to entry” in publishingpublishers•about 1,000 US distributors & wholesalers•large-scale intermediaries (middlemen) between the 25,000 publishers and the 26,000 booksellers (not to mention libraries)•distributors only pay for books when sold•wholesalers pay for books up frontdistributors and wholesalers•about 26,000 booksellers in US•about half are affiliated with large chains and about half are “independent booksellers”•the independent booksellers only represent 15% of total book sale revenues•retailers have about a 30% return rateretailers•most books have a life span of only a few years•fully 75% of all books published never make a profit•“economies of scale” •trade books less profitable than textbooksselling the book•about $2.50 goes to the author (called a 20% royalty on wholesale price of $12.50)•about $12.50 goes to the bookstore (less costs)•about $10 goes to the publisher (less costs)•publisher nets about $1.25 profit per book (5% of retail)a typical $25 trade paperback•about $11 goes to the author (14% royalty on wholesale price of $76)•about $24 goes to the bookstore (less costs)•about $65 goes to the publisher (less costs)•publisher nets about $7 per book (7% of retail)a typical $100 college textbookare books on the way out?over $25 billion in US publisher revenue•total of 2.5 billion books printed each year•represents about 100,000 unique titles (50% new)•generates over $25 billion in revenuesUS publishing statistics•remember, some 26,000 publishers•only 5 publishers account for 80% of all NYT bestsellers•remember, over $25 billion in revenue•only 20 publishers account for 40% of that revenue ($10 billion) •most top publishers part of larger media firms US publishing concentration•efficient system?•inflated price?•lack of diversity?•absence of social critique?•porous wall between editorial and advertising?•media used to maintain concentration of power?•investments in new technology?•any state-supported alternatives?US publishing concentration —does it matter?consuming books in the library•9,200 public libraries in the US (not counting branches)•11% of these libraries serve 72% of the population (urban)•half of all libraries are open less than 40 hours per week•7 items circulated per capita; 5 visits per capita•combined revenue of about $9 billion•$1 billion spent on materials; $6 billion spent on staffNCES, 2004
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