Content, community, collaboration and copyright: how the social web is key to evolving the publishing industry

Citation

Tillery, J. (2012), "Content, community, collaboration and copyright: how the social web is key to evolving the publishing industry", Arts Marketing: An International Journal, Vol. 2 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/am.2012.52002baa.003

Content, community, collaboration and copyright: how the social web is key to evolving the publishing industry

Article Type: Creative Insights From: Arts Marketing: An International Journal, Volume 2, Issue 2.

Conversations around online content have dominated publishing industry events for the past four years with break-out sessions, panels and whole conference days dedicated to exploring the challenges and opportunities presented by the digital shift. Sunday May 15, marked the 2012 London Book Fair's digital day with insights being shared by publishers, self-publishers, authors and developers of digital tools (Barkham, 2012). This conversation continued into the main tradeshow, with the panel discussion, “The 4C's of Successful Publishing Business Models in the 21st Century,” chaired by leading IP and digital copyright lawyer Laurence Kaye. The panel also included Neil Blair of The Blair Partnership, Henry Volans of Faber Digital, Omer Ginor of Touchoo, Jeff Gomez of Stralight Runner and myself.

Agent, lawyer, publisher and digital specialists – the panel promised a diversity of insights from all angles of the digital content issue. While our experiences varied it quickly became apparent that we all saw collaboration as key to the success of the publishing industry. Henry Volans of Faber Digital rightly questioned just what collaboration meant; reiterating that true collaboration comes out of a willingness of all parties involved to relinquish some control to benefit from the skills and expertise of others. Omer Ginor encouraged audience members to adopt a start up mentality that embraces partnership, adaptability and outsourcing to ensure a win-win for all involved. Even, Laurence Kaye, the voice representing the legal side of the debate, argued for the need to look carefully at copyright law and asset sharing tools that enable the use of licensed content on an international scale.

Regardless of the industry sector, the power of online communities cannot be underestimated. Many in the publishing industry, and alarmingly some who spoke at the digital conference, still state that digital, and in particular social media, are trends. In doing so they downplayed its significance, but there is no denying that the rise of online has radically shifted consumer behavior. While publishing may have had a bit of respite compared with other sectors such as the music industry, which has been grappling with piracy and shifting business models for well over a decade, the challenges faced by the publishing industry are by no means unique. Interestingly neither Neil Blair nor Laurence Kaye specifically advocated legislation; a course taken by other creative industries such as music and film. Neil Blair focussed instead on the social causes of piracy and the issues that need to be addressed by educators and governments through education. Legislation and education are larger issues that require the participation of a variety of stakeholders and time to enact change. The publishing industry should, in the short term, seek to address the attitudes held within their own sector toward engaging with consumers via the digital tools on offer in the current state of the social web.

Online communities can be a source of ideas, a hunting ground for new talent and a direct path to marketing new product. As someone who studied the nature of marketing opportunities presented by online communities for my Master's dissertation at King's College in 2010, I have seen the proof of my theoretical explorations in that the social web has provided a new age of marketing that is nothing short of revolutionary. Thanks in no small part to the nature of the medium itself, which offers many-to-many communication in multi-modal forms. Text, image, video and audio all combine on the web in countless social applications providing individuals with the ability to share ideas unencumbered by the confines of a single communication mode. In the context of publishing, where at the heart of any offering is an idea, authors and publishers are now freed of the constraints of sharing these ideas in a single text-based form. This provides any number of new digital touch points to engage with consumers, all of which are potential revenue streams. Yes, the hallmark of the new digital age is the ability to find content anytime, anywhere and access it (largely) for free, however, as we see in the case of Pottermore.com, “free” can be the mechanism by which to attract and grow a loyal community so that when they do opt to purchase content, they do it through you.

This idea of offering free content is strategic and I have used it successfully for the launch of four books in the past 12 months. Making noise and building anticipation around a book release is nothing new, however, on the social web we now have the opportunity to by-pass traditional gatekeepers and speak directly to consumers. It can also be strategically used at any stage of the writing and publication process to ensure consumers are invested before any product, digital or otherwise, is released. In the case of our client Dom Joly, who's book, Scary Monsters and Super Creeps will be released by Simon & Schuster in August 2012, the research process was captured and shared via Facebook to engage followers in a conversation around the far flung destinations Dom had photographed. Each “Like”, “Comment” or “Share” on Facebook of a single image introduced Dom to a new audience; the friends of his Facebook fans.

Our work with Dom is simply another example of how forward thinking authors can strengthen their work, contract negotiations or sales by looking at the potential of the social web. Kerry Wilkinson stated that with e-publishing he was able to pay off his mortgage in record time. Amanda Hocking (Lowry, 2011) is a self-publisher who has sold over 1 million books via Kindle Direct Publishing, aided in no small part to her dedication to growing her online audience (15,856 followers on Facebook, 13,368 followers on Twitter and a blog). On March 10, Bret Easton tweeted about possible sequel to his 250,000 followers (Flood, 2012). Mentioning current celebrity names as possible twists to a plotline he “crowd sourced” ideas from fans and they duly responded. Over 12,000 tweets[1] discussing the book were sent in one day. Aside from the creation of content, his is an example of how authors have the power to find and enter in to conversations with others passionate about their subject, genre or existing publications.

As part of the Digital Minds conference at London Book Fair Digital Minds Conference 2012 – Live Blog, Andrew Steele of FunnyorDie.com, highlighted the reality that, while there is a lot of content online, the majority of it is ill conceived and poorly produced. For authors the online world presents a unique opportunity to capture an audience hungry for quality content that is currently lacking. Steele also indicated that the nature of the web and the variety of digital tools means that ideas can be showcased and shared in any number of means.

Jeff Gomez demystifies the online world by stating that, “the real world is multi-modal and non-linear. What this means to authors is that they can use the web and the greater universe of pervasive communication (both traditional and digital) to develop deeper, richer and more emotionally satisfying story worlds. In traditional storytelling, we follow a small group of characters through a tunnel of sorts. The greater world they live in may be referenced, but we can’t go there. What these new technologies and transmedia techniques now allow for is to essentially paint their story world across far greater canvases. We can visit the past and future of the novel, we can follow characters ‘off screen,’ and go deeper into their lives. For the most brave and experimental of authors, there is even the possibility of allowing readers to interact with characters or contribute to the narrative in different ways. Currently we are only scratching the surface of an emerging art form, but its a form that hinges on the work of great storytellers.”

It is perhaps with Neil Blair's overview of the Pottermore.com project during the panel discussion that we saw just how community, collaboration and story worlds can showcase literary ideas to an eager consumer base. Neil and his client, J.K. Rowling (Jones, 2012) were faced with the exciting, yet challenging proposition of maximizing her international digital rights for the Harry Potter series. Knowing there would be unprecedented demand on a global scale and that the potential for piracy and policing were huge The Blair Partnership took the radical approach of creating an online destination, Pottermore.com, a dynamic web portal which enhances the literary series by offering interactive digital content that allows a community of registered users to explore, engage with and purchase their own bit of the Harry Potter universe. Fan expectation was at an all time high, the demand was unprecedented with 1 million pre-registrants for Pottermore.com, and industry scrutiny was laser sharp. With the site launch on April 14, worries were dismissed and the industry saw how intellectual property can be maximized in the digital space to create an experience that is groundbreaking for publishing and consumers alike.

In his July 2012 white paper, A framework for publishing business models in the 21st century – collaboration, communitycation, copyright and contract, Laurence Kaye Solicitors (2012) explored the unique time of transition that publishers are facing as they navigate between established business, copyright and revenue models in the printed books to a more uncertain future of seeking to exploit creative ideas across any number of digital media. While most publishers are now active on social networks for marketing purposes some have gone a step further, seeking to embrace the culture of openness on the web by creating application program interface (APIs) that allow developers to access content. Pearson's “Plug and Play” platform gives ready made access to their Pearson Education Textbooks as well as their well known rage of Dorling Kindersley (DK) Publishing's illustrated guides. Not all publishers are so open with their catalogue of content but all are investing in growing their digital divisions as they seek to move beyond simple integrated distribution and retail models for their published works.

The social web is pervasive all but ignoring international boarders. From our offices in London we manage the social profiles of author, businesswoman and interior designer Kelly Hoppen MBE in Mainland China. Active on five social platforms in China, Kelly has a presence on Douban a platform focussed on books, music and cultural content which is linked to the Chinese versions of Amazon (Zhuoyue) and eBay (Dangdang). We offer editorial around her publications while the platform allows followers to buy her books with a single click. At 50 million users on the Douban platform and counting we have made a strong statement about Kelly's desire to connect with her Chinese fans and engage in conversation about her publications on platforms they are using.

If the publishing industry must now look to collaborate with authors to secure additional content, seek out digital suppliers to bring these story worlds to life, and have an open dialogue with communities of consumers, so too must they ensure the intellectual property at the core of this web of relationships is protected. Victoria Barnsley of Harper Collins called for the protection of UK copyrights but Laurence Kaye takes a wider perspective on the issue stating that “fundamentally the system in the UK works and that any changes need to be based on a solid case that they will have a positive impact. The UK has a vibrant creative community and there are many initiatives around licensed content in a variety of sectors” (HarperCollins News and Events, 2012). In his white paper, Laurence countered the idea that digital technology and social media were making copyright redundant stating that “copyright is at the heart of the digital publishing industry”. He suggests that copyright is not as anachronistic as it might seem but rather has the capacity to adapt of the challenges of the digital space because it is “format neutral […] there is no copyright in ideas […] [and] there are checks and balances in the system”. Laurence suggests looking at the Linked Content Coalition who are defining standards of interoperability across industries as well as the example of Pottermore which has taken a practical and brave approach to piracy that has paid dividends in millions of downloads thanks to a decision to free content from a proprietary format.

For my part as a marketeer I would encourage authors, publishers and agents to realize that they have the ability to shape the terms of use of their intellectual property. To secure your rights by all means look to the legal avenues available but do not forget that you can speak directly to consumers to secure their loyalty outright. The power and the responsibility for maximizing the potential of imagined worlds now lies with authors, publishers and literary agents, thanks to the opportunities presented by the social web. For those who have capitalized on it such as Kerry Wilkinson and Amanda Hocking, it has provided the ability to self-publish their works on Amazon and secure direct revenue without the assistance or agents or traditional publishers. For a writer like Bret Easton, it provides a rational and negotiating position for book deals with their publisher. Or in the case of J.K. Rowling, the ability to take a concept loved the world over and create a multi-faceted online universe from which anyone can purchase another piece of Harry Potter. In these few examples we see that in the wake of the social web's rise collaboration, embracing digital opportunities and new business models are key to the success of the publishing industry regardless of the part of it you belong to.

Jade TilleryHead of Social Media, dot.talent

Search for replies znd re-tweets of @breteaston sent on March 10, 2012 conducted on analytics tool Sysomos April 13, 2012.