Book and film trade observations

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After a decade of Internet trading, going to Frankfurt has become mainly a ritual for the publishing industry. In this business, the past few years have seen a shift away from the trade in publishing rights towards distribution contracts, and most of these deals are concluded or prepared before everybody meets at the Fair itself. Book Fair statistics claim some 600 million Eurodollars turnover at the Fair each year, and, well, that’s just about 1%, at the most, of the world’s US$ 80 billion book publishing market. Of course, all publishers and literary agents try to capitalise on their Frankfurt investments, but the real reason for their expensive stay is the rather vague occupation of networking — making contacts and being seen. Fluctuations in total visitor numbers (270,000 from 290,000 the previous year) therefore, aren’t decisive for discerning the state of the industry, as long as the number of exhibitors (some 6,700) and trade visitors (186,000) remains as it has been for some time now: amazingly stable. And, Frankfurt is still the place where standards are being set for the book trade worldwide. ...cont´d

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