Publishers Weekly - March 30, 2015

Global Publishers Look to Embrace the Digital Future IPA The 30th session of the International Publishing Associa- tion ended May 26 in Bangkok, completing three days of discussions focused on the ever-changing practices that drive global publishing in the digital era. Participants called on publishers to embrace the digital transition and compete for consumer interest at a time when video games and social media dominate the leisure time of a younger generation. Programming zeroed in on the need to encourage literacy in the technologically developed West, but also to address the scarcity of books in the developing world and the rising demand for them.

While digital piracy persists as a global problem, the confer-
ence highlighted the importance of strategies other than litiga-
tion—from partnerships with content-sharing sites and educa-
tional programs to the simultaneous global release of content—
to address a complex issue that remains difficult to solve. In-
deed, an African publisher cited the important role a lack of
books can play in the developing world, noting that book scar-
city “in a way promotes piracy.”
And following the disruptive entry of large tech companies
into publishing and bookselling, publishers were encouraged to
look at fixed book prices, a growing trend around the world ( 16
countries currently have fixed book-price laws) as a way to pro-
tect independent booksellers from the harmful effects of dis-
counting. Indeed, the conference urged publishers to consider
new concepts of selling books altogether. A panel featuring
HarperCollins CEO Brian Murray, his chief digital officer Chan-
tal Restivo-Alessi, and Scribd CEO Trip Adler hailed the prolif-
eration of new business models and called on publishers to em-
brace as wide a universe of distribution opportunities as possible,
from print/digital bundling to e-book subscription services.

Those were some of the themes covered during the three-day
conference, which hosted 509 attendees. Some first-time at-
tendees said it would have been more effective with greater
coverage of BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) markets (“re-
duce the focus on Western experiences, already well publicized
in the media”) and more balanced perspectives (“sharing experi-
ences and strategies instead of sales pitching”) . Others found
the format (with panelists formally sitting on a big, high stage)
too intimidating for multidirectional exchanges. But overall,
the attendees found the sessions to be useful and the trip worth-
while. For Trasvin Jittidecharak, chair of the conference organiz-
ing committee, “the turnout was satisfactory given the hectic
period just before the Bologna and London book fairs and in the
midst of a less-than-ideal global economic situation.”
London will be the venue for the 2016 IPA Congress, with
tentative plans to hold the event just before the London Book
Fair. —Teri Tan