Good article from times of India ......
Richa
is an avid reader and spends most of her pocket money on books. While earlier
she used to save every penny that her father gave her to buy books, today all
she wants from him is his credit or debit card so that she can buy eBooks,
albeit under his supervision.
Richa is one of those bibliophiles who are quickly embracing technology and are
befriending the electronic avatar of books. And their number is increasing each
passing day .
As
per a global research by Bowker's Global eBook Monitor, popularity of eBooks is
growing. According to the report, about 75 per cent of the respondents plan to
be reading eBooks in 2015 and half of the respondents expect that most of their
reading to be through eBooks.
As a result, 2015 may in many ways be a defining year for eBooks as they will
overtake printed books in units sold.
Globally,
eBooks have led to a tsunami of change in one of the oldest industries in the
world. Sameer Nigam, VP, Digital, Flipkart.com, says, “This is the perfect time
to launch eBooks in India. We have a growing, tech-savvy reader base that is
constantly on the go and they are looking for options to buy and read their
favourite books on their mobile devices instantly . In the US and European
markets, which have been early adopters of eBooks, the market share for digital
trade books currently stands at 50 per cent. In the US, the eBooks market
recently crossed $1 billion in annual sales.“
And
now eBooks are making a considerable mark in the Indian book world, slowly ,
but steadily. As per Amit Agarwal, Vice President & Country Manager, Amazon
India, India is amongst the top ten markets for books and the third largest
market for English books.
“India
is currently a nascent market but we see huge potential here. This high
propensity for reading, growth in literacy, increasing Internet penetration and
Internet-enabled devices plus a rapid growth of middle class population with
increasing disposable income makes it a very promising market,“ he says.
The
market is increasingly price sensitive. A Pluggd.in survey of eBooks in India
found that 45 per cent of respondents prefer physical copies only while 20 per
cent prefer eBooks only and 35 per cent would switch from physical to eBook versions
if major discounts were provided. But the publishers are optimistic. Agrees
Agarwal as he points out that producing, distributing, and marketing eBooks is
more costefficient and customers get the advantage of that.
Vishal
Mehta, CEO and Founder, infibeam.com, echoes the same views.
“Author economics work very well in Indian eBooks market.
The
average selling price of local edition of physical books is very low and
transportation cost makes it economically hard to service large author
royalties. With eBooks, the distribution and printing costs are minimal and
authors can distribute to readers across the globe without compromising rights
and having additional royalties,“ he states.
Industry
people say that eBooks should be considered a challenge rather than a threat to
traditional publishing.
“The
two delivery channels have to co-exist and complement each other in an emerging
India which is technology-driven. No industry can remain static,“ avers A
Sethumadhavan, Chairman, National Book Trust (NBT).
NBT,
which is under Human Resources Development Ministry , is engaged in book
promotional activities in the country and is all set to launch its very own
eBook store.
About
500 of titles by NBT would be made available in the electronic format in
English, Hindi and other Indian lan guages that can be downloaded through
reading devices like Kindle, iPad and other android devices.
Apart
from Indian publishers, established foreign brands, too, are counting on the
growing market.
“Traditionally
known as the land of storytelling, it was important to us that we enter the
market with an offering that met the expectations of a discerning Indian
audience who are passionate about the books they read,“ says Michael Tamblyn,
Chief Content Officer, Kobo. “We are delivering an experience that has the very
best from around the world and titles from the most beloved local authors. In
partnership with some of the best retailers, we'll set the standard for digital
reading in India,“ he adds.
“With
e-commerce in the midst of a rebirth and a steady increase in demand for more
digital content, the time is right for Kobo in India,“ said Haja Sheriff,
Country Director -India, Kobo.
“Literature
and the love of storytelling are ingrained in our culture and the Kobo platform
will make it easier than ever before for Indians to access to the stories they
love anytime, anyplace and on any device,“ states Sheriff. In a survey
commissioned by Kobo and conducted by Ipsos India, 93 per cent of
selfidentified readers said they are familiar with eReading devices or apps
that allow for reading across a variety of devices and 56 per cent said they
would prefer to read digital content on a dedicated eReading device.
Furthermore, 54 per cent of respondents said they would read more if they had
an eReader that provided them with access to their own digital library anytime,
anywhere, and anyplace.
Already
established in the physical books market, Flipkart, too, has extended its
expertise and experience to the digital format as well.
Ravi Vora, Senior VP, Marketing, says, “Flipkart is a clear leader in the
Indian books market with 40-45 per cent share of the organised books market in
India.
Providing
seamless content, regardless of platforms, will be a big part of our strategy
to further strengthen this position and extend it to the digital space.“
Speaking
about the app launch and Flipkart's upcoming plans for eBooks, Mekin Maheswari,
Head, Payments and Digital Media, reveals, “Everything we do is about making
the end-user experience easier and more delightful. We don't believe that the
eBook experience should be restricted to a single device.
With
the launch of these apps, our eBook titles are now accessible to all readers,
no matter which device they use. We already have 2.5 lakh titles on the site
and we aim to increase this to 10 lakhs by year-end. And all of these can now
be read by a customer through any smartphone, tablet or PC.“ With the advent
and growth of smart devices, people across all age groups today are consuming
digital content.
“Our
eBooks are downloaded by all age groups and they can read the books not just on
Kindle but can also download the Kindle reading app and read books on their
iPhone, iPad, Android tablets and phones, PCs and Macs,“ says Agarwal.
Agrees
Vishal Mehta, CEO and Founder, infibeam.com. “The adoption of eBooks is small
but growing very fast from analog content going digital and proliferation of
smartphones and reading devices. Today growth of smartphones has resulted in
fast growth in the consumption of eBooks,“ he informs.
And
it's just not the English language that rules the roost in the eBook segment.
Vernacular,
too, has a huge role to play in the growing demand of electronic books.
“India
is still an emerging market for eBooks and within that the language eBooks
market is also small; but we see huge potential here,“ says Agarwal. To this
Mehta adds, “Vernacular language books are making their way onto the digital
platform and Hindi is the most popular language on our platform.“
Even
schools and libraries are moving towards the digi tal format. “Our college
library is changing acquisi tion policies in line with mod ern trends. From the
coming year onwards, we are going to devote 20 to 30 per cent of our
acquisition budgets towards purchasing eBooks. In our acquisitions, we are
going to follow required reading lists and purchase eBooks that are prescribed
in the syllabus as essential reading,“ concludes Gurpreet Singh Sohal, librar
ian at GGD SD College Library .
KOBO
Readers will also have access to Kobo's eBook store, one of the largest in the
world, fea turing nearly four million titles across 68 languages, including 95
per cent of India's bestselling content featuring work from top-sell ing Indian
authors, including Jhumpa Lahiri, Ramachandra Guha and Sachin Garg to international
bestselling authors like Dan Brown, John Grisham and Lee Child.
INFIBEAM.COM
Infibeam offers more than 1L eBooks from major publishers and authors that can
be read across devices (smart phones, tablets and computers). There is no
requirement to download any soft ware as its content rights platform is device
agnostic. It has also introduced its own eBook reader Infibeam Pi and
subsequent versions that support rights management and multi language with eInk
and touch screen.
FLIPKART
The company's strategic focus on eBooks is supported by Indian authors
and publishers who are working with Flipkart to create and expand the
market. For
example, as part of this launch, exclusive pieces written by well-known
authors
like Khushwant Singh and Sidin Vadukuthave will only be available on
Flipkart
eBooks.
Flipkart
is also building up a robust collection of region al titles. While it already
has an extensive selection of Hindi eBooks, it is looking to expand its Marathi
and Bengali offering by the next quarter. With the smartphone emerging as the
Indian consumer's constant companion, we have seen the concept of eBooks
gaining immense popularity. We believe Flipkart launching its eBook store app
on the Windows Store will catalyse this even further, with Nokia Lumia users
indulging in their passion for reading on the go. What makes this partnership
even more special is that we have worked very closely with Flipkart to develop
the eBook application for the Windows Phone platform.
Jasmeet
Gandhi Head-Depth, Developer Ecosystem, Nokia India WRITERS' BLOCK The new
eBooks initiative will take book distribution to a new level. I am very excited
about my books being accessible in new modern formats. I hope this would make
India read even more.
Chetan
Bhagat It's exciting to see a whole new generation of readers being created in
India with the eBooks store! It's a natural step in the right direction.
Jeffrey
Archer
Source | Times
of India | 15 May 2014
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