THE ECONOMIST Facts and Figures on Book Publishing in America

THE ECONOMIST reports in the June 7, 2008 edition that 411,000 new titles were published in America in 2007. The adult trade segment of the book publishing market grew at 4.3%. Since 1985, books' share of entertainment spending has fallen by seven percentage points. Books have changed little in the past half millennium, but they may be on the verge of going digital. Unlike digital music or video, however, digital books require consumers to change their consumption habits. Another new technology that is less visible to readers is making itself felt—print-on-demand (POD) which allows books to be printed and bound to order. POD makes million of books available even if they appeal to a narrow readership (see THE LONG TAIL by Chris Anderson).