For the past few years, the price inflation of textbooks has been publicised ad nauseum. It is now largely common knowledge that textbook prices have increased by over 847 per cent in the past 30 years, which is more than three times the rate of inflation. A cursory glance at social media will allow you to get a sense of the depths of popular student opinion, and with 65 per cent of students having not bought a textbook due solely to it being too expensive, it’s clear that there’s an issue.
Against that backdrop, in a market where it’s possible…
Education has always been considered a catalyst for improving the quality of life. However, can everyone really gain access to the knowledge needed to pursue specialised careers and propel themselves out of financial uncertainty?
There has been much discussion surrounding educational institutions, entry fees and requirements. Although universities have begun to address some challenges, there is more to be done that requires troubleshooting immediately.
Currently, one in five people aged between 5–17 are out of school globally. …
With publishers now losing a staggering 28% of their potential revenue to academic piracy, a proactive approach could make all the difference…
In 2018, e-book piracy websites received over 800 million visits; a number expected to rise by at least a third in 2019. The scale of piracy in academic publishing is staggering, yet one would be excused for assuming it a mere annoyance to publishers. Inevitability haunts any discussion of piracy in the industry and pervades even the most pragmatic. With one in four students admitting that they regularly pirate academic content, the issue cannot be ignored.
Publishers have…
(as originally seen in The Bookseller on 18th June 2018)
No term garners more collective trepidation from the publishing industry than ‘The Spotify for Books’. From Oyster to Scribd, and Flooved to Entitle, countless outfits have professed to be on the brink of disrupting the world of books. So why have none achieved the runaway success of Spotify? Is the publishing industry fundamentally unsuitable to a model of unlimited consumption? Many would have you believe so. In reality, whilst the term has inevitably been overused, it has also been misused. …
This will “revolutionise an outdated textbook industry model”.
With these words from an incumbent major CEO in the publishing industry, the advent of ‘Cengage Unlimited’ in 2018 is increasingly being seen as an inflection point for the concept of the eBook subscription service. For Michael Hansen to throw Cengage’s considerable klout behind this business model represents an unprecedented step forward for the industry. Until now, publishers had only been dipping their feet in the water; now they’re taking the two-footed leap.
The concept of an ‘all-you-can-read’ subscription to eBook content is certainly not new. Plenty with a decent knowledge of…
Matthew Jones
Ex-teacher, now VP Content @ Perlego - trying to disrupt the crazy worlds of publishing and education. I write about publishing, EdTech and self development.
