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Booksellers out of digital loop

18.07.07 Liz Bury

New ways to distribute digital content that could leave traditional booksellers out of the loop were discussed at a conference in London last week. The event, sponsored by Klopotek, brought together digital asset distributors to look at the challenges of distributing digital content in
the future. No booksellers attended and from the traditional UK book trade only Gardners was present.

Presentations covered a wide range of topics in digital asset distribution, including how publishers' business models will change as digital revenues become more significant. "In the next 20 or 30 years there will still be printed books, but a period of mixed market is coming," Adrian Soar, c.e.o. of CPI Publishing Solutions and a former Macmillan director, told delegates. "The value chain is not necessarily the same in the digital world. You don't need a middleman," added Adobe's Bill McCoy.

Gregor Wolf, Klopotek chief technology officer, outlined a new distribution model in the digital world, where one copy of the digital asset is provided to the digital asset recipient--for example a retailer--which then sells it multiple times. This contrasts to the situation with physical books, where the distributor supplies multiple copies.

The BA's Digital Task Force, set up to investigate the role for traditional booksellers in a digital future, is so far reserving its judgement. Chair Francis Bennett said: "We are talking to all types of company to get their views and to understand this market. We should have our first ideas, perhaps for testing, by early August. But it's too early to say."

Liz Bury digital

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