Launch BEA
Publishers Launch BEA: eBooks Go Global
May 25, 2011
BookExpo America
Publishers Launch BEA: eBooks Go Global was the first-ever all-day BEA event specifically addressing the educational needs of high-level international visitors and those who do business with them. It was also the first show to focus on one of the deep pockets of digital growth: global ebook sales.
Produced by two renowned thought leaders about digital change in publishing – consultant Mike Shatzkin, founder of The Idea Logical Company and blogger at The Shatzkin Files, and Michael Cader, creator of Publishers Lunch (the world’s largest book publishing daily) and PublishersMarketplace.com – Publishers Launch BEA: eBooks Go Global featured presentations from those in the US who already have deep digital experience alongside key international executives and representatives from the global giants who are building the world’s ebook infrastructure and sales channels.
This day-long program covered the big North American-based retailers and distributors (Apple, Amazon, Google, Ingram, Kobo and Overdrive – plus Barnes & Noble and more) who are building distribution networks that will extend to every language and every corner of the globe, and suggested how international publishers – which in the new paradigm will be most publishers – can maximize the opportunities they present.
Lessons already learned in the US market were shared, as were all the basics of building a digital go-to-market operation: conversion, digital distribution, and the critical metadata issues that make ebooks findable and marketable on electronic shelves. And we highlighted current and future battlegrounds – rights, open vs. closed markets, pricing models – as well as new frontiers such as apps, enhanced books and more to help international publishing professionals decide what’s most important to them, given their current resources, talent, and networks of relationships.
On the program:
* Stats and Strategies
Where ebook markets stand in the US and major territories, and where they are heading next. Why English-language ebooks will soon be everywhere–and how the publishers of ebooks in other languages can do the same.
* Lessons from the US
What America’s biggest publishers have already learned that’s relevant to publishers around the world.
* The Biggest Players
Hear from and about, Apple, Amazon, Google, Kobo, Ingram, and Overdrive, plus Barnes & Noble and others, and the opportunities and obstacles they present to international publishers.
* The New Rights Issues
Digital transforms the traditional rules and practices governing rights, territoriality, and open markets vs. closed.
* Apps, Enhanced Books, and More
As digital takes hold, what business are you really in? Hear from experienced execs on how–and whether–experimentation in other fields is a solution or a distraction.
* The New Essential Skill Sets
New opportunities require new skills–in marketing, social media, product development, software and more. Hear how traditional companies have successfully integrated new people and new skills.
* Global Sales
English-language ebooks are becoming available around the world – and books in other languages can do the same. Digital presents global sales opportunities that all publishers should maximize.
