The Market of Electronic Books in Russia: The Specifics of Production and Distribution

Over the past two decades of the 21st century, the Russian e-book market demonstrates growth trends. In comparison with the world leaders of book publishing, it occupies a small niche in the total volume of published books. Nevertheless, it is one of the most dynamic in the world. At this rate of growth, in the near future, it may enter the top five countries publishing digital book content. This development was the result of a more active entry of publishers into a new market and its successful development; antipiracy legislation, partially protecting legal publishing and distribution structures, further internetization of the country; relatively affordable prices for electronic book products, etc. Over the past decade, the foundations of the Russian market of electronic books have been formed: electronic book publishing, digital distribution, the market of electronic library systems, the market of devices for reading e-books, the market of audio books, etc. The specifics of the Russian e-book market is the extremely low regional component of e-book production, the high integration of digital book publishing with the traditional paper book industry, and, simultaneously, the independence of distribution channels and promotion of digital content. In addition to large traditional publishers, e-book publishers, special services for converting e-books, electronic selfpublications have become engaged in the production of book digital content. Enterprises which publish e-books give preference to the domestic distributor of e-book content, counting on their own websites, online stores, local aggregators of content, electronic library systems, use of foreign Internet platforms. The B2B segment of the Russian market of e-books is monopolized, it is formed by large sellers of digital content, the market of mobile applications with built-in libraries (“mobile libraries”) continues to develop. Early in the second decade of the 21st century, the B2C market segment was formed represented by electronic library systems of scientific and educational content. The steady increase in sales of e-books, both in assortment and in ruble offer, the formation of a developed infrastructure of e-book publishing, digital distribution, variety of the used formats and devices for reading e-books confirm the formation of the basic foundations of the e-book market in Russia. The further scenario of the e-book market development in the country depends on many factors: the solution of macroeconomic problems, the fight against illegal content, increasing the purchasing power of the population, etc. Given the territorial scale of Russia, it can confidently be said that only developed digital book technologies can solve the problems of monocentrism, technologi- cal backwardness of the regions and bring the book closer to any reader, no matter where in the country he or she is.

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