Inspiration and Misjudgements

As I await inspiration to kill off my dissertation I decided to finally try and compose a 'real' blog entry, something I have failed to do for a couple of month now I believe. To be honest I am just getting back into the online world again, spending many an hour infiltrating the endless labyrinth that consitutes the web. This will only be a brief commentary on some of the changes I have made to the blog recently.

Under the heading "Great Sites" I have added a site from the Curran boys, my very special and beloved B.C.'s brothers. Their music is up and coming and although they have had to re-arrange their band set up a few times over the last couple of month, what I have heard so far sounds really good. Hard to describe but something along the lines of Neil Young meets Rolling Stones meets Stone Roses meets Bourroughesque lyrics. Very intersting! They are called Grand Carousel.

What has got me even more excited though are the additions to the blog section. First there is the Penguin blog and as far as I know it is the first blog from a major publisher. Of course Richard Charkin has his Macmillan blog, but considering his role in the publishing world I am not considering it in the same category as Penguin. Macmillan makes most of its profit from non-fiction material, especially STM journals, which are areas leading the race for combining technological advances/developments with traditional publishing. Hence the Charkin blog is different. Anyways, the Penguin blog itself is rather weak I feel but hopefully it will get better as time goes on. They seem to make a valiant effort to answer questions that get asked by people and this does indeed encourage customer interaction, which is probably the main purpose of the blog. If they can learn anything to help sell books, then I am willing to bet my life that they see their blog as a success. Check it out, it is interesting nonetheless.

The other new addition is even better. The infamous Scott Pack is soon starting his new role of Commercial Director for the Friday Project and has been writing some very interesting blogs over the last couple of weeks. I cannot recommend this blog enough. Mr. Pack comes across as a genuine book lover who is not afraid to speak his mind and unfortunately he seems to have taken a lot of stick for this from the media and the general public. His blog has got a very interesting recommended reading list, a mention of other blogs often run by meaningless individuals like myself and just generally a different and very interesting take on the publishing industry. I am glad that there is someone not afraid to express his views and take on new challenges and I would therefore like to apologise to Mr. Pack for having misjudged him in the past.

I still don't understand why other, smaller publishers don't start blogs. I know that they probably don't have much time but if Scott Pack and Richard Charkin can find the time and inspiration than surely so can Jamie Byng? I would also like to see Bookshops have blogs, but maybe they already do and I am just ignorant. I will keep searching. My goal at this point is to write at least once a week with a kind of industry update for the masses and providing links to any interesting online material.

Thank you also to those 2 individuals that commented on the questionnaire.

M.M.

Demise of Net Book Agreement & Dissertation

It has been a very long time since I last blogged. There are plenty of reasons for this, but no point in getting into them. Even this blog has been created purely for practical reasons - completing my dissertation. Anybody and everybody is welcome to comment and I hope that through the link that Richard Charkin agreed to add to his blog, some people with strong opinions regarding the demise of the Net Book Agreement (NBA) will leave their comments. I want to get as wide a range of comments from all over the industry (i.e. librarians, authors, booksellers, wholesalers, publishers, etc). The wider the spectrum of opinions, the better.

I would like to thank Richard Charkin for agreeing to do this, as he has already been extremely helpful in providing me with some valuable insights and information on this topic. So there, thank you Mr. Charkin for being such a strong supporter for young and growing publishers.

Below is the questionnaire that I have sent to various industry experts, but as mentioned above, I want all the feedback I can possibly get. I don't know if anybody will actually take the time, but if they did, I would be extremely grateful.

Thanks in advance for anybody contributing comments or even taking the time to look at the questionnaire. Please realise that comments do not strictly have to be answers to the questions below, any opinions on this subject matter are welcome.

MM

Effects of the demise of the Net Book Agreement on the present and future publishing industry.

This questionnaire is aimed at enabling publishers (or indeed anybody involved in the book trade) to express their views on the effects that the demise of the NBA has had on the publishing industry.

All answers will be treated in strict confidence, and the anonymity (should this be desired) of respondents will be fully respected.

Please answer as thoroughly as you can. If you need more space, please feel free to take it, as I am keen to have as much information as possible.

1) Arguments for the demise of the Net Book Agreement as presented by the Director General of Fair Trading included (amongst others):*
1) “The Net Book Agreement restricts the ability of booksellers to expand the sale of books and compete with other products, to the detriment of consumers.”
2) “Consumers are likely to benefit from lower overall prices without the Net Book Agreement.”
3) The opportunities for extending the market for books to groups of people who in the past have not been regular purchasers is thus enhanced when retailers can determine their own process.”

1a. How far do you agree with the above points?

Fully agree [ ] Partly agree [ ] Disagree [ ]

1b. Are there other more important or more prominent reasons, which in your opinion, led to the demise of the NBA?


What are the advantages and disadvantages to the publishing industry, no longer being under resale price maintenance (having a free market)?

2a. Advantages

2b. Disadvantages


3) Do you believe that there have been any trends (positive/negative) since the collapse of the NBA, such as increased exports, higher book prices, fewer bookshops, etc.)?

3a. General trends

3b. Positive trends

3c. Negative trends


4a. Do you believe that the publishing industry needs to return to restricted market conditions, similar to the NBA, in order to protect independent publishers and retailers? Please give reasons for your answer.

4b. Could the removal of printed prices on books be the solution


5) Briefly, could you discuss how you envision the future for your company and what it plans to do to ensure it remains viable?

6) What role do you think supermarkets and online retailers played in the collapse of the NBA and in preventing the industry from reverting to restricted market conditions?


7) What if anything do you believe globalisation has played in leading to the demise of the NBA and creating a free competitive market?


Thank you for taking time in answering this questionnaire. Your contribution is greatly appreciated.

* *The three arguments chosen are meant to reflect a balanced view of the seven main reasons listed as contributing to the demise of the NBA and are by no means representative of the entire judgement passed and merely reflect personal choice on behalf of the author of this questionnaire and dissertation.
In re Net Book Agreement 1957 (No.4) 1995 Nos.3 and 4 (E. & W.) Restrictive Practices Court Ch D (RPC) Ferris J., Mr. B. Colgate and Mr. J. King 1997 Jan. 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31; March 13 (Sweet and Maxwell Law Report).