In October we attended The Markets conference at the Frankfurt Book Fair. Developed in partnership with Publishing Perspectives, and taking place on the eve of the publishing industry’s largest trade event, The Markets highlighted the globalized nature of 21st century publishing by showcasing seven vibrant publishing regions from around the world.
Shining a spotlight on diverse international opportunities and content development, the conference introduced industry professionals to 69 key market players and influencers from the seven feature markets.
The seven markets showcased at the inaugural summit were:
- China – International partnerships and joint ventures
- Turkey – Whole publishing market
- USA – Digital publishing and innovation
- Germany – Scientific and business information
- South Korea – Education and children’s books
- Mexico – Trade publishing
- Indonesia – Trade publishing
We’ve recapped some of our favourite sessions from the day, with more to follow later this week. Enjoy!
Indonesia
The day began with a talk from Wandi S. Brata, CEO of Gramedia, entitled Discover Indonesia’s Book Business Potential. With Indonesia as this year’s guest of honour in Frankfurt, there was arguably no better way to start the day than by introducing publishers to this exciting publishing market which, for many, remains as-of-yet untapped.
As the CEO of Gramedia, Indonesia’s largest book publishing group, Brata has a particular vantage point when speaking about the vast opportunities available to international publishers. As the 16th largest economy in the world, and the 1st in South East Asia, the Indonesian publishing market is of interest to many. Nevertheless, Brata was open about the challenges that Indonesian publishers continue to face, stating that 2015 was a difficult year for many. With an overall growth of only 2% in 2015, the industry is coming off a stagnant year. Brata’s own company, Gramedia, has benefitted from a 12% growth, but he was quick to point out that this number is an anomaly, and not representative of the industry as a whole. Despite these challenges, the presentation ended on a very positive note, with Brata emphasizing Indonesia is a prime example for why we need continued investment in the future of the industry, even in challenging market conditions, in order to secure brighter days ahead.
For Livres Canada Books, one of the most gratifying moments came when Brata referenced our export market webinar on Indonesia as an excellent source of information for anyone looking to gain a comprehensive overview of the market. Presented by Thomas Nung Atasana, our webinar took place in June of this year, and a video of his presentation is available on our website.
The morning progressed with a second presentation on Indonesia by Haidar Bagir, President and Director of the Mizan Group. His talk Indonesia: A Sea of Opportunity for the Book Publishing Industry delved further into the changing face of Indonesian publishing. Bagir began by providing a historical overview of the Indonesia market. With more than 17,000 islands and home to over 300 ethnic groups, Indonesia is a diverse territory. According to Bagir, one of the most promising developments in recent years has been the growing demand of data and content in the Indonesian market, fuelled by the popularity of smartphones. Although the estimated number of ebooks in the market accounts for less than 2% of print books, the demand for content among Indonesian readers is high and growing with every passing day. With the younger generation (12-34 year-olds) holding a strong online presence, and the 4th largest population of Facebook users in the world with a whopping 80.2 million (20 million more than in the UK), Bagir mounted a convincing argument for why Indonesia is an industry worth exploring. He advised publishers looking to enter the market to find a local partner who is familiar with the industry and to establish a joint venture.
With no less than were nine Indonesian market players present at the conference, and a plethora of Indonesian publishers at this year’s fair due to their presence as guest of honour, Bagir’s talk struck the right chord.
11/10/2015 | Book Fairs, Events, Export, Rights