Tuesday News: 2014 publishing mergers, Tom Kabinet survives first ruling, iWatch speculation heats up, and everything you didn’t want to know about codpieces

JanetPublishing NewsApple / Big 5 publishers / codpieces / digital books / History / iWatch / mergers / research / used books5 Comments

Publishers’ Acquisition Activity Picks Up – An interesting piece from Publishers Weekly that lists the acquisitions and mergers publishers have taken between January and June 2014. According to the article, the last time this much publishing activity took place was 1929 (aka the start of the Great US Depression). And despite that happy thought, some industry experts apparently perceive these acquisitions and mergers as a sign of the publishing industry’s resilience.

The combination of the economic downturn of 2008–2009 and the uncertainty about where the book business was headed as e-books began to take hold at the beginning of the current decade made it difficult to place a dollar valuation on companies, which, in turn, made the heads of both large and small publishers reluctant to get involved in the acquisition field as either buyers or sellers. That attitude began to change with the announcement of the Penguin–Random House merger. With the economy gradually improving and the slowdown in e-book growth providing a bit more clarity about the future of the book market, more executives have been willing to take the acquisition plunge. Indeed, in the view of some industry observers, consolidation is key to survival for companies that want to remain in the trade book business. –Publishers Weekly

Publishers Lose First Round of Lawsuit Against Used eBook Marketplace – A couple of weeks (?) ago, I reported that a new Dutch retailer, Tom Kabinet, which sells used digital books, was under legal fire from the Dutch Trade Publishers Association, which perceives the site as comparable to a pirate site. Somewhat surprisingly a Dutch judge shut down that court’s equivalent of an injunction, which would force them to suspend operations while they defend their business in court. As Nate Hoffelder points out, Tom Kabinet still has a long way to go, but it’s something, at least.

Even though Tom Kabinet won today, the odds are still stacked against it. The site is going to have to win the lawsuit in both local and EU courts, a process which will likely take years. What’s more, the Dutch courts have a history of supporting industry trade groups whenever the topic of piracy comes up, including repeatedly ordering ISPs to block The Pirate Bay. That blockade was only lifted in January of this year when EU courts overruled Dutch courts, saying that the blocks were disproportionate and ineffective. –The Digital Reader

iWatch Will Prove Apple As A Luxury Brand And A Brand Powerhouse – There’s been a lot of chatter lately about what the anticipated iWatch is going to look like. These images of the Tory Burch Fitbit may give us some clues. Apple has recently hired several executives from high end designers, including Yves Saint Laurent and Tag Heuer. Will the iWatch be the new iPhone? Forbes seems to think so.

How do you convince the mass of consumers to consider an iWatch to be a necessary accessory for 21st century life? Make it a fashion-forward, celebrity-endorsed object of desire. Make it aspirational (to use the technical marketing term.) And then, once its value and exclusivity is established, transform it into an “attainable luxury,” much like the iPhone has become. From this perspective, Apple’s fashion executives have a lot to do. To start with Pruniaux, perhaps Apple now intends to sell the iWatch through the same retail channels as luxury watches like TAG Heuer—Tourneau and high-end department stores. Why limit exposure to Apple stores? Plus the carriers don’t have the same motivation to sell the iWatch as they do the iPhone. It represents an accessory, not a new data plan. –Forbes

Dr. Reed’s medical codpiece theory – So, all those codpieces you see in 16th century paintings may not simply reflect the virility of the wearer (original or enhanced). If the theory of Australian physician Con Scott Reed is correct, those codpieces were actually more in the way of disease management. So when we talk about historical authenticity, does this fall into the category of accurate but not romantic?

The prime candidate being syphilis, which was rampant in Europe at the time. “The treatment of the disease was for the most part empirical with multiple agents applied locally, which along with the bulky dressings would give large frontal bulges, impossible to hide. The problem would present the tailors with a challenge that appears to have been met by them featuring the mass with the codpiece, while also appearing to advertise the wearer’s virility.” –Improbable Research

Janet

isn't sure if she's an average Romance reader, or even an average reader, but a reader she is, enjoying everything from literary fiction to philosophy to history to poetry. Historical Romance was her first love within the genre, but she's fickle and easily seduced by the promise of a good read. She approaches every book with the same hope: that she will be filled from the inside out with something awesome that she didnʼt know, didnʼt think about, or didnʼt feel until that moment. And she's always looking for the next mind-blowing read, so feel free to share any suggestions!

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