Publishers admit book sales get a lift from Google scan
Publishers are starting to report an uptick in
sales from Google Inc.’s online program that lets readers peek inside
books, two years after the launch of its controversial plan to digitally scan
everything in print.
This is a topic that Dvorak Uncensored has dealt with on earlier occasions — here and here. The economic chickens are coming home to roost.
Publishers are starting to report an uptick in sales from Google Inc.’s online program that lets readers peek inside books, two years after the launch of its controversial plan to digitally scan everything in print.
Google has been enlisting publishers to voluntarily submit their books so that Web searchers can more easily find titles related to their interests, but some fear the project could lead to piracy or exploitation of their copyrighted content.
“Google Book Search has helped us turn searchers into consumers,” said Colleen Scollans, the director of online sales for Oxford University Press.
She declined to provide specific figures, but said that sales growth has been “significant”. Scollans estimated that 1 million customers have viewed 12,000 Oxford titles using the Google program.
Some of the same publishers participating in the program have [previously] united to file a lawsuit against Google alleging copyright violation over a separate plan by the Web search leader to digitize the world’s libraries.”
You’d think the beancounters over at the RIAA and MPAA would learn something from this experience. Or wouldn’t?
Posted: Sun - October 8, 2006 at 09:01 AM