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'Encouraging younger consumers to pay'

7 September 2009

'Although I don't wish to be a harbinger of doom, I don't think it's unrealistic to predict that that the global book market will reduce by 30% to 50% in the next 10 years. This will come not only from piracy, but also from reductions in list prices to encourage people to buy rather than pirate and also through a decrease in active readers. It is perhaps worth thinking of alternative ways that publishers, authors and booksellers can survive. Even the big-name authors can't escape, and they can't go on sell-out stadium tours like their counterparts in the music industry. So, how do we encourage younger consumers to pay for products when they are used to getting entertainment and information for free?

Andrew Crawford, CEO of The Book Depository, in the Bookseller