DISTRIBUTION: Ask anyone to give a selection of industries which have seen their retail, distribution and marketing strategies turned on their head as a result of the web and, inevitably, book publishing is mentioned alongside travel and music. Unlike in travel, where many "traditional" brands have evolved, some believe book publishing many never find a way back. Read more on USA Today.
Books are the business of second-class businessmen, who twice in the last generation have lost control of their fate to retailers.
This allowed them to pretty much dictate pricing terms and product specifications.
In the first go-round, the power passed to brands such as Barnes & Noble, offline retails outlets that morphed into chains of stand-alone book superstores, devastating independent sellers.
Then, came Amazon.
Read more on USA Today
NB:Digital books image via Shutterstock.