Is the staggeringly profitable business of scientific publishing bad for science?

It is an industry like no other, with profit margins to rival Google – and it was created by one of Britain’s most notorious tycoons: Robert Maxwell. By Stephen BuranyiIn 2011, Claudio Aspesi, a senior investment analyst at Bernstein Research in London, made a bet that the dominant firm in one of the most lucrative industries in the world was headed for a crash. Reed-Elsevier, a multinational publishing giant with annual revenues exceeding £6bn, was an investor’s darling. It was one of the few publishers that had successfully managed the transition to the internet, and a recent company report was predicting yet another year of growth. Aspesi, though, had reason to believe that that prediction – along with those of every other major financial analyst – was wrong.The core of Elsevier’s operation is in scientific journals, the weekly or monthly publications in which scientists share their results. Despite the narrow audience, scientific publishing is a remarkably big business. With total global revenues of more than £19bn, it weighs in somewhere between the recording and the film industries in size, but it is far more profitable. In 2010, Elsevier’s scientific publishing arm reported profits of £724m on just over £2bn in revenue. It was a 36% margin – higher than Apple, Google, or Amazon posted that year. Related: The high-tech war on science fraud Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2017-06-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #scientific journals #scientific publishing #amazon posted

Other Publishing stories related to: 'Is the staggeringly profitable business of scientific publishing bad for science?'


Real-Time Advertising Bidding Offers Publisher Control

As publishers attempt to make online advertising a profitable and engaging business model, real time bidding on Web inventory by prospective clients is becoming more prevalent. Conde Nast launched a private Web ad exchange with AdMeld for select clients in late 2011, and now smaller publishers... Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2012-02-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #select clients #smaller publishers


UK publishers' "concern" over Amazon ebook removals

UK publishers have expressed concern Amazon’s use of “power” to remove the e-... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-02-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #uk publishers


Academic publishing facing "unprecedented challenges"

Academic bookselling is experiencing “unprecedented challenges” with the rise of... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-02-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #unprecedented challenges #academic bookselling


Rankin tells Orion: 'Authors need publishers'

Author Ian Rankin stressed that authors "really need publishers", especially "as... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-02-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


B&N profit sinks, launches new Nook

Profit at US bookseller Barnes & Noble sank 12% in the third quarter, despite both physical... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-02-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Sales and profit up at Quarto

International co-edition publisher Quarto has pledged to "redouble" its efforts to... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-02-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Self-published authors’ market share surges

As much as a quarter of fiction ebooks sold in the UK could be from self-published writers, as... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-02-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #self-published authors #self-published writers


Profits Rise Again at Simon & Schuster

Since ebooks first became a meaningful part of a publisher’s business in 2009, results at Simon & Schuster have followed a familiar pattern—a decline in revenue but an increase in earnings. Between 2009 and 2011, total sales at S&S dipped 0.7%, but adjusted operating income has jumped... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-02-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #revenue falling #operating margins #profits rise #simon schuster #total sales #$100 million


Elsevier increases sales and profits

Elsevier increased sales and profit in 2011 as the company said the decline in print sales was... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-02-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #print sales


International publisher alliance shuts down piracy site

An international alliance of publishers, including Cambridge University Press, Elsevier and... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-02-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #international alliance


Lupton hails self-published authors, wins Nielsen Gold

Bestselling author Rosamund Lupton has hailed self-published authors at an event to mark half a... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-02-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Inkling Introduces Cloud-based Publishing Tool

Inkling has a new tool for publishing complex ebooks, ideal for educational publishers seeking more than what iBooks Author allows. Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2012-02-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #ibooks author


Sweeney new Windmill publishing director

Cornerstone has promoted Stephanie Sweeney to Windmill publishing director, effective immediately... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-02-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #effective immediately


Publishers need to expand digital backlist, says Bilbary founder

Publishers need to place a greater emphasis in getting their backlist titles published digitally... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-02-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #greater emphasis


Bloomsbury sets up India business

Bloomsbury is setting up a new publishing business in India, with plans to develop Indian... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-02-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #publishing business


Newsday Wins Three New York News Publishers Association Awards for Excellence

Melville, NY, February 14, 2012 – Newsday has been recognized by the New York News Publishers Association with three Awards for Excellence for its superior journalism. Award winners will be honored at a reception in Albany on Wednesday, Apr ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2012-02-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #award winners


Ebook Publishers Want Library Borrowing to Be Difficult

Penguin drops over-the-air downloads; now only Random House gives libraries unrestricted access to purchase and loan ebooks. Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2012-02-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #ebook publishers #library borrowing #random house #loan ebooks


Test our rivals' tablet claims, says Future as it publishes T3 data

Future is encouraging media agencies to probe the numbers its magazine publishing rivals are claiming for their tablet editions, as part of an "educational" initiative to grow the tablet advertising market. Continue reading at Media Week

[ Media Week | 2012-02-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #tablet editions


Hearst appoints Prima publisher as Seaton joins Immediate

Hearst Magazines UK has appointed David Parker as publisher of Prima, replacing Steven Seaton, who is joining Immediate Media as managing director of its London specialist division. Continue reading at Media Week

[ Media Week | 2012-02-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


H&S to publish Holocaust survivor memoirs

Hodder & Stoughton has acquired the memoirs of Sam Pivnik, one of the few living British... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-02-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #hodder stoughton