Last year, digital publishing in China was still in its infancy, however it is now an economic phenomenon developing extremely fast. In fact, the publishing industry has recently enjoyed considerable growth. According to the China Digital Publishing Industry Report 2013-2014, the industry’s growth rate in 2013 was 61%.
Even though those numbers seem encouraging, numerous issues are constantly being raised, such as copyright, industry structure, operating platforms, stakeholders, and intellectual property. Those concerns remain critical, especially for China’s international business relationships. Indeed, in Western countries people tend to attribute more value to how things are done. Because of that cultural difference, publishers from the West are afraid to fail in meeting people’s expectations in terms of ethical criterias. Despite this downside of China’s market, it is still considered as a place of opportunities for western publishers. It is indeed a place of possibilities, with a market covering a wide range of topics, for instance education or professional publishing. In 2009, China’s eBooks sales reached 12 billion dollars. In the latest 2013-2014 report I previously mentioned, it is stated that the total revenue of China publishing industry exceeded 42 billion dollars, and is expected to reach 56 billion by the end of the year. The popularity of mobile publishing is notably increasing; in 2012, it generated almost 8 billion dollars, while internet journals, e-books and digital newspapers reached 938 billions.
Nevertheless, this rapid growth of the digital publishing industry in China is put into question by China’s need to strengthen the anti-piracy awareness. Repeated piracy is common in the country, and there is a strong market demand for low cost publications. A report by the China Publishing Science Research Institute showed that 80% of people had already acquired pirated audio-visual products. This number can be quite frightening to western publishers, and in the last few years Chinese publishing companies have been asked to strengthen their anti-piracy awareness. China has to adapt its digital licensing and piracy laws and awareness programs to the needs of publishers in order to maintain the market’s spectacular growth.
Even though those numbers seem encouraging, numerous issues are constantly being raised, such as copyright, industry structure, operating platforms, stakeholders, and intellectual property. Those concerns remain critical, especially for China’s international business relationships. Indeed, in Western countries people tend to attribute more value to how things are done. Because of that cultural difference, publishers from the West are afraid to fail in meeting people’s expectations in terms of ethical criterias. Despite this downside of China’s market, it is still considered as a place of opportunities for western publishers. It is indeed a place of possibilities, with a market covering a wide range of topics, for instance education or professional publishing. In 2009, China’s eBooks sales reached 12 billion dollars. In the latest 2013-2014 report I previously mentioned, it is stated that the total revenue of China publishing industry exceeded 42 billion dollars, and is expected to reach 56 billion by the end of the year. The popularity of mobile publishing is notably increasing; in 2012, it generated almost 8 billion dollars, while internet journals, e-books and digital newspapers reached 938 billions.
Nevertheless, this rapid growth of the digital publishing industry in China is put into question by China’s need to strengthen the anti-piracy awareness. Repeated piracy is common in the country, and there is a strong market demand for low cost publications. A report by the China Publishing Science Research Institute showed that 80% of people had already acquired pirated audio-visual products. This number can be quite frightening to western publishers, and in the last few years Chinese publishing companies have been asked to strengthen their anti-piracy awareness. China has to adapt its digital licensing and piracy laws and awareness programs to the needs of publishers in order to maintain the market’s spectacular growth.
Gallagher, C. (2014). Digital Publishing in China - Industry Report Released. [online] 3dissue.com. Available at: http://www.3dissue.com/publishing-in-china/ [Accessed 20 Oct. 2014].
Research In China, (2014). China Digital Publishing Industry Report, 2013-2014. pp.1-78.
Tian, X. and Martin, B. (2013). Reading the Signs: What is Really Happening with Digital Publishing in China?.
Publishing Research Quarterly, 29(3), pp.252-270.Wang, Z. (2009). Current Status of Copyright Awareness of China’s Publishing Corporations.Publishing Research Quarterly, 25(4), pp.208-218.
Research In China, (2014). China Digital Publishing Industry Report, 2013-2014. pp.1-78.
Tian, X. and Martin, B. (2013). Reading the Signs: What is Really Happening with Digital Publishing in China?.
Publishing Research Quarterly, 29(3), pp.252-270.Wang, Z. (2009). Current Status of Copyright Awareness of China’s Publishing Corporations.Publishing Research Quarterly, 25(4), pp.208-218.