Radio Program/Listen Online: Canadian Publishers Face Uncertainty

From a CBC News Article/Summary:

The Canadian publishing industry has long faced uncertainty, but e-books, the U.S. pricing system and a concentration of major retailers in the Canadian market contribute to greater uneasiness today, according to three industry insiders.
Three insiders discussed their concerns about the future of the industry on CBC’s The Sunday Edition — Scott McIntyre, the founding partner and CEO of Douglas and McIntyre, Margie Wolfe, President of the Association of Canadian Publishers and co-founder of Second Story Press, and Patsy Aldana publisher of Groundwood Books and co-chair of the National Reading Campaign.
As sales per book decline, e-books appear to offer a lower-cost option to publishers, McIntyre said, speaking with host Michael Enright. However, he said he believes e-books have not been around long enough to predict future sales trends.
“It’s the wild west. Nobody knows anything,” he said. “The margins on e-books are good, they’re even not bad for writers. But it’s not a business model yet.”

Read the Complete Summary and Listen to the Program (Audio Stream is Embedded in Article)
The audio runs about 45 minutes.

Filed under: Companies (Publishers/Vendors), News, Publishing