The iPad threat to the rule of Amazon and digital publishing in Spain live a hot year. Planeta, Santillana and Random House have joined in a digital platform.

Weeks before it goes on sale, the iPad has already caused an earthquake in the world of publishing who has played himself into the global giant of digital books, Amazon. Confident of its power, this company requires publishers to agree on a uniform price of $ 9.99 (7.20 euros) for most developments, a quantity which takes 50% leaving the other half by editor and author. Apple, maker of the iPad, I knew I could break this strong position and has offered to publishers and writers margins of 65% on your next book distribution service-iBooks, similar to iTunes, bringing the price surge to $ 14.99 (10.90 euros). To Rupert Murdoch, media mogul and owner of the powerful media group publisher Harper Collins, likes the idea and the mere possibility that it can forge a partnership with Apple also for their newspapers, television and movies-on-iPad supports all adding more points to the earthquake intensity.

The Macmillan group, one of the big four in the U.S., Amazon ordered to remove their works from the web because it was Apple. And the havoc caused to the supplier’s largest virtual world has had to backpedal and already sells the news that publisher to 14.99.

What’s more, Google last Editions Google preparing to sell digital books with a ’stock’ of between 400 and 600,000 shares, as announced at the last Frankfurt Book Fair. The company Sergey Brin and Larry Page has dropped they would be left with only 15% of the amount if you sold through the publisher’s page-a lower rate than Apple, and with 37% if marketed directly. With all these movements opened up the debate on the price of digital books, and who will be responsible to put it.

A novel digital format should cost 35% less than its traditional version, as this represents the savings in the costs of editing, printing and distribution. But the reader must invest before 200 to 400 euros in the gadget to read the texts and, therefore, are the professionals, publishers, lawyers, etc. .- you have to handle many more documents who use it.

A Spanish reader means, which buys about ten plays a year, does it worth the investment? The thing, experts say, is green here and in America, where the digital edition represents only 2% of the business, even if you have sold a million ‘Kindles’ electronic reader from Amazon.
Their prices are still expensive, but will fall as did the iPhone mobile-eight U.S. gigas fell from 599 to 99 dollars, 83% in three years-and then there will be more people willing to take the plunge.

In the publishing industry, everyone takes positions. So much so that even the ‘enemies’ of yesteryear, such as Planeta, Santillana and Random House have made a common trench and prepare for this spring a digital platform that will release between 5,000 and 7,000 titles, about a third of their catalogs.

Slow growth

They’re not alone, as the Group 62, RBA, SM, Roca, Edebé and Trotta, among other publishers have jumped on the same ship, the distributor of leqtor.com to navigate the digital ocean. Until the Cervantes Institute is studying how to introduce the issue ‘online’ and will put a plan in its library of Madrid and then extend it for the rest of the seats.

According to Santos Palacios, director general and cultural Mass Market Metro, which is required to bring the price is for publishers, but adds that more and more decisive will weigh the ability to sell an author and the percentage that sweeps each flush, quite different in the case of Dan Brown than for a stranger. Also, remember that in Spain there is a fixed price, the law only allows discounts of 5% - while U.S. is free.

Palaci warns that investment to get into the digital world are “multi” and even with a very poor return. In this environment would not help to low prices of the e-books’ “because this would reduce sales of paper books without getting commensurate gains in return.” “The market is small and slow growing,” he adds.

The director of Metro in the United States admits that some of the readers who read the traditional media have moved to electronic reading on a journey of no return. But caution is recommended to take the data that Amazon provides. “Amazon says it sells the same in digital than in traditional book, but never offered proof. The day she left ‘The symbol lost’ by Dan Brown sold a million copies in paper and approximately 100,000 digital format, and the first usually has a longer life than the second, that if we talk of new low just outside more in cases like Brown.

Both believe in Amazon in ‘e-book title that costs $ 13.75 and the hardcover version on paper, 12; that yes, after the relevant discount, since the original price was 29.95 , who always have to add shipping charges.

The picture is changing, with contradictory tendencies, characteristic of transitional periods in this case can last a decade or fifteen years, according to experts. Thus, while one eye looks at the future, the other goes to land, and in full digital publishers to booksellers pamper meat and bone meals and organize them with their best authors because of them depends largely the success of a book.

The big chains have already signed on to the Metro platform / Random / Santillana, who has created an application for independent bookstores to adapt its offering to its websites with a very low investment.

Xènia Busser, leqtor.com greeted the appearance of the iPad, “because it is talking about it and that’s good,” though he clarifies that goes beyond reading device because it includes pictures and sound, that is, everything but the iPhone phone. To his credit, which has many applications that the user likes. Against him, which has bright screen and is heavier to read than other readers with electronic ink.

In his view, the digital edition has a present, but above all a future, a generational issue. “There are devices for color illustrations of children’s stories that are wonderful. Children become accustomed to them from the beginning, and kids 12 and 14 and say the ‘e-book read faster, because they are more used to the screens to paper. Moreover, one can bring Larsson trilogy with barely weighed, instead of charging the three volumes.

Last Leqtor.com incorporation of 27 publishers and digital books will be sold through the online pages of The English Court, Casa del Libro and Fnac. For now, Buss is not afraid to piracy by providing a “very robust protection, even if hackers are able to enter the White House may do so elsewhere. What we have now is horrible quality and read on your computer. As in other times of change, which now plays, says Buss, “is to learn.”