World Monitor Magazine WM_KIOGE 2018_Web | Page 62

additional content
Gutenberg’s Revenge
Why books are the only form of physical
media whose sales are growing.
The media and entertainment industry
has a long history of embracing disruptive
innovations, from the printing press to the
personal computer. But the rapid shift from
physical to digital over the past decade or
so has been truly revolutionary. In general,
physical media has suffered a great deal.
Printed newspapers and magazines have
migrated to online versions, while DVDs and
CDs have been supplanted by film- and music-
streaming services.
But the oldest form of physical media is
actually holding up quite well. According
to PwC’s Global Entertainment & Media
Outlook 2018–2022, the consumer market
for physical, printed books is holding its own
in an increasingly digital world (see “Print
Presses On”). Between 2018 and 2022, sales
of physical video games, home video, and
music are expected to decline each year, in
some instances by double-digit percentages. By
contrast, sales of physical books are expected
to grow modestly, by about 1 percent annually,
every year. By 2022, PwC expects consumers
around the world will spend US$50.3 billion on
books in physical or audio (i.e., non-electronic)
form, compared with $47.8 billion in 2017. In
May, the Association of American Publishers
(AAP) reported that in the U.S., print books,
especially hardbacks, remain a source of growth
for the association’s nearly 1,200 publishers.
AAP’s Monthly StatShot revealed that revenues
for trade (consumer) books increased by $96
million (1.3 percent), to $7.6 billion, from 2016
to 2017. The growth was attributed to a 3
percent revenue increase in the adult books
category, which accounts for more tha n 65
percent of all revenue for trade books.
60
world monitor