Klobuchar Criticizes New USPS Sacking Policy For Publishers (mediapost.com)

A May 4 webinar hosted by Ingram Content Group addressed supply chain challenges, logistic delays, inflation, the role environmental impacts play on consumer shopping preferences, as well as how accessibility is increasing the reach for e-books and audiobooks. Participants included Rob Grindstaff, director of sales operations and product development for Ingram's Lightning Source; Ruth Jones, director of global sales and digital services at Ingram Content Group UK; and Gina Walpole, the senior services manager for Ingram Content Group UK. Panelists noted that troubles with the supply chain persist. Problems include a shortage of materials, increased freight prices, and port congestion. All of this is putting a strain on publishers as it becomes more difficult for them to accurately predict demand and, consequently, supply for a given title. It was pointed out that paper mills are operating at full capacity while some are shifting production from producing paper to packaging. Labor shortages persist across the logistics supply chain—and are predicted to carry into 2023. All this is resulting in rising costs.

Revenue at Hachette Book Group rose 5.4% in the first half of 2017, over the comparable period in 2016, parent company Lagardere reported. The gain excludes $24 million from the Perseus Books publishing division, which Lagardere bought in March 2016. Total revenue at Lagardere’s Publishing unit—Hachette Livre—increased 5.1% , to 1.02 billion euros, over the first six months of 2016. Recurring EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) rose 14%, to 41 million euros. In the U.S., Lagardere said the increase was due mainly to the performance of Hachette Nashville, home of FaithWords and Center Street, as well as to such successful titles such as The Fix by David Baldacci and The Black Book by James Patterson. Click Read More below for more of the story.

The following is a statement from Maria A. Pallante, President and CEO, Association of American Publishers: “The American Booksellers Association newly released whitepaper, American Monopoly: Amazon’s Anti-Competitive Behavior is in Violation of Antitrust Laws, provides a clear outline of the longstanding, anti-competitive behavior that has enabled Amazon to gain a dominant position in the publishing industry. As AAP noted in comments filed with the FTC in 2019, the fact is that no publisher can avoid distributing through Amazon and, for all intents and purposes, Amazon dictates the economic terms, with publishers paying more for Amazon’s services each year and receiving less in return. At the same time Amazon’s approach to its bookstore enables widespread counterfeiting, defective products, and fake reviews that both degrade the consumer experience and diminish the incentives of authors and publishers to create new works and bring them to the marketplace. We thank the American Booksellers Association for making a clear, concise, and powerful case for government officials to step in quickly and decisively to exercise corrective measures and appropriate governance of this dominant platform.”