When it first appeared in the 1930s, the paperback was regarded with suspicion and alarm in the book industry.
Deploying a brand new technology, it brought cheap literature to the masses, transforming reading habits.
The revolution shook the gentlemanly world of publishing to its core.
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Three quarters of a century later the British company behind this disruptive force, Penguin, finds itself at the centre of another epoch-defining upheaval.
The relentless march of the electronic book – epitomised by Amazon’s Kindle reader and the forthcoming Apple iPad – threatens to hollow out the publishing world in the same way as the internet has altered forever the dynamics of the music industry.
Penguin boss John Makinson likens the rise of the ebook to the moment when Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press in the 15th century.
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...publishers do enjoy a number of advantages over the music giants in the digital age.
For one, Kindle, iPad or Sony Reader buyers cannot digitise their libraries in the way that music lovers can rip their entire CD collection onto the hard drive of their computer and then upload songs onto their MP3 player.
Secondly, piracy is still in its infancy in the ebook market. Sure, it’s possible to find pirated copies of best-selling titles on the web, but the threat is nowhere near as grave as it was for the music business in the early 2000s.
For these reasons, publishers still wield considerable power over the internet and tech giants seeking to break into their domain.
If download stores like Apple attempt to force down the price of ebooks – as they did with songs – the likes of Penguin and Random House can play their trump card, according to Makinson.
‘If retailers try to drop the price below a certain level they simply won’t get the file,’ he said.
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People will expect to pay less for an ebook than a physical book, particularly a hardback,’ Makinson concedes. ‘What we don’t know is how much less.’ This is why the book of the future will contain many additional features embedded in the digital file, such as interviews with the author and critical essays.
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