HarperCollins announced a 20.6% drop in revenue for the quarter ending June 30, 2009, Publisher's Weekly reports. Citing -- among other things -- a decline in book sales, CEO Brian Murray admitted that '09 was "a challenging year" for HC, who are believed to have cut about 200 jobs in that period.
Murray and HC aren't alone: the Association of American Publishers reported an industry wide 2.8% decline in net sales in 2008 compared to the previous year. Not until June of this year did the publishing industry see any notable increase in sales -- thanks largely to a 30% bump in the mass-market (see: "beach reading") category, and the annual double-digit spike in Higher Education sales.
Most notably in the June numbers (and what gets this writer all tingly inside), e-Books surpassed Audio Books in net sales on a 136.2% jump (contributing to the 150% year-to-date increase in e-Book sales), compared to Audio's 36% ytd slump. In June, the e-Book category amounted to about 10% of the Adult Hardcover category -- an impressive feat given the price difference in titles (e-Books with the revenue-per-title disadvantage) and the relatively slow adoption of e-Book readers in the marketplace.
In related news: no word yet on whether the paper-plummet and e-rise will finally convince publishers to reconsider and embrace the Great Big Google Book Scan.
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