음악 산업을 통해 출판 산업의 미래를 볼 수 있을까?

디지털 패러다임 속에서 출판 산업을 어떤 길을 갈까? 음악 산업의 그것과 궤도를 비슷하게 갈 것으로 보는 측면과 책 본연의 프레임은 음악과는 다르기에 궤도 역시 다르다는 관점이 팽팽하다. 하지만, 정해진 건 딱히 없다. 나는 음악 산업과 비슷하게 갈 것으로 본다. 기존의 음악 앨범이 한 권의 책이라면, 디지털 싱글처럼 파편화된 하나의 완성품으로 책의 외연은 달라질 것이다. 물론, 그 본연의 가치는 유지되지만.. 구현 방법론에 있어 그 차이는 분명히 예상된다. 무엇보다 중요한 것은 바로 '독자'다. 컨텐츠를 어떤 방식으로 이용하는지에 대한 유의미한 현상들이 지금도 목격되고 있다. 종이책 제작과 유통의 방식과는 확실한 차이를 보이고 있고, 앞으로 더 그럴 것이다. 암튼, 좋은 꼭지를 만났다. 

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Lessons for Book Publishing From the Music Industry’s Digital Street Fight

Categories: Expert Publishing Blog
November 18, 2012 | Steve Gottlieb | 0

   

 

  

Publishers are well served by looking at the music industry’s experience in dealing with similar disruptions to their traditional business environment. As President for over twenty years of the largest US independent label, TVT Records, (25 gold and platinum releases including Nine Inch Nails, Lil Jon, Pitbull, and Dashboard Confessional) I sat front row to the spectacle of major labels’ serial failed attempts to avert change wrought by the digital revolution. I testified before Congress on the issue of digital rights, served on the boards of Napster, MusicMatch (acquired by Yahoo!) and Tune Up, and was founding board member of the American Association of Independent Music (formed, first and foremost, to help indie labels organize themselves in regards to the battle over digital distribution).

Mergers among record labels were decidedly not good for the “ecosystem”: not for music discovery, not for artist development, not for sales, not for artists and certainly not for the bottom line of labels. They did not enable the surviving majors to do any better in pushing back against the dominant retailer, in that instance, iTunes. And competition from other online retailers like Amazon, Napster (when legit), Best Buy’s Liquid Audio, Walmart, and countless startups, did not help either.

Industry after industry has faced dramatic technological change driven by the consumer preference for convenience and efficiency that the internet provides. In no case I can think of, has “pushing back” or market share leverage of the strongest players proven to be a successful strategy to anything other than being able to cut costs and weather declining margins better than the competition.

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http://www.digitalbookworld.com/2012/lessons-for-book-publishing-from-the-music-industrys-digital-street-fight/