It has been several years since we had what is affectionately known as a “day job” — this week, we have been reminded of the inherent rigors of such an activity, and we find we cannot recommend it. One must rise early and go somewhere else. Then there’s office coffee. It is always bad. And traffic. How does anyone survive leaving the house?
We do not know, but we are hitting the road for the fourth time this week. Four work days, four days away from the comforts of our home office with all its toys and distractions. That surely explains why our mind has turned to business…and this quote from Anthony Cheetham, consultant to Random House:
“We’ve had the first phase of conglomeration and now many of the independents have disappeared. The supergroups form a kind of premier league so far ahead of the rest of the market in terms of size, clout and distribution. But the acquisition opportunities are fewer and fewer, so it will be interesting to see how they develop. I think they have to look within.
If we are understanding the concept (and we make no promises), Cheetham is suggesting the four super-publishers is the maximum number allowed by the publishing species, and now it is time for evolution to kick in and show us what that survival of the fittest thing was all about. It is our nature to wonder, and we cannot help but envision a scenario where one or two super-publishers is rushing nature despite the latter’s notoriously slow work schedule, only to be swallowed by another super-publisher…one who defines organic as eating everything in its path.
- Supergroup publishers ‘must grow organically’
- Booktrade Info (always an excellent source of news)
