Tuesday
Aug102010
Inflation in the book business
Tuesday, August 10, 2010 at 9:34PM
There's an argument you always get into when people who think book theft (aka piracy) is a good thing. I'm not talking about borrowing books from a library here, or passing on a copy to a friend. I'm talking about wholesale ripoffs of digital ebooks and audio online.
Ah, the piracy lobby says. None of this would happen if books weren't so expensive. Really? Here's the truth: books are cheaper than ever. I was just sorting through my book cases tonight and came across this...
Published in 1970, not long after the wonderful movie came out. Remember 1970? Probably not. I do, vaguely.
In 1970 the average house price in Greater London was £6,882 compared with £302,411 in 2009.
In the US the median household income was $8734 compared with $52,029 in 2008.
How much did my copy of The Godfather cost then?
And how much will it set you back at Amazon today?
Forty years on the price has, in real terms, fallen. And actually Puzo is at the higher end of the scale. Most of us sell for less than this -- my new paperback, The Blue Demon, lists at £6.99 but is actually available for £4.18.
Whatever reason people have for nicking books, it's not the price, honestly.
Ah, the piracy lobby says. None of this would happen if books weren't so expensive. Really? Here's the truth: books are cheaper than ever. I was just sorting through my book cases tonight and came across this...
Published in 1970, not long after the wonderful movie came out. Remember 1970? Probably not. I do, vaguely.
In 1970 the average house price in Greater London was £6,882 compared with £302,411 in 2009.
In the US the median household income was $8734 compared with $52,029 in 2008.
How much did my copy of The Godfather cost then?
And how much will it set you back at Amazon today?
Forty years on the price has, in real terms, fallen. And actually Puzo is at the higher end of the scale. Most of us sell for less than this -- my new paperback, The Blue Demon, lists at £6.99 but is actually available for £4.18.
Whatever reason people have for nicking books, it's not the price, honestly.
Reader Comments (2)
It's hard to see how you make a living with prices so low.
It's time we got away from the word "piracy" which has a certain romantic Johnny Depp ring about it.
Mary
These are UK prices, remember. And they are very, very low. The picture's not the same in some other markets, though I'd hazard a guess books are still cheaper in relative terms than they were forty years ago.
How do authors make a living? Not from one market or one medium I'm sure. Translations, audio, collaborations, theatrical rights... you need them all unless you are very big in a single market.
With you on the piracy word... there's nothing romantic about stealing someone else's work particularly when it costs so little to buy it legally.