UK Publishers build relationships (and sip vodka) in Russia

We are pleased to present the findings of the UK Publishers Association’s successful delegation to Russia this past November. The following is excerpted from The Russian Book Market – and Vodka for Publishers by Lynette Owen.

The Russian market has understandably gone through a tough period during the economic recession and this has been reflected in both export sales of British books and rights purchases. Russian representatives who spoke to the delegation were admirably frank about the problems they face, but were optimistic that the market would recover. Two issues which surfaced throughout the visit were those of copyright infringements (both physical and on the internet) and the burgeoning interest in e-books.  On the piracy front, there appears to be very little coordinated action (ASKI, the main publishers’ association, has long been regarded as weak) and it has been left to the major players such as Eksmo and AST to take specific action when their own rights are infringed.  Russian publishers were interested to hear of the more coordinated action taken by the PA and the AAP. 

On the question of e-books, a range of readers are available (although not the Kindle) and the expectation is that e-book prices will be even lower than those of the printed equivalent.  Russian publishers are certainly asking for e-book rights to be added to their print translation licences, but few have established programmes in place and many are reluctant to apply DRM as they feel this encourages further piracy.

Delegation members benefited from a wide range of discussions and – whilst recognising current problems in the market – most felt that there were opportunities for British publishers.  It must be remembered that this is a market which less than twenty years ago was transformed almost overnight from a situation where publishing, distribution and retailing were all state-controlled to a free-for-all of private enterprise. Many companies went out of business almost as rapidly as they had appeared, but the most committed have survived and continued through a number of political and economic upheavals.  Above all, this is not a market where results can be achieved in the short-term – it requires regular visits to build up relationships.

Tricia McCraney | 02/28/2011 |

Comments [0]

RSS Feed