Reed Elsevier and Google

[Joseph Esposito <espositoj@gmail.com>]

The following article appeared yesterday in the Observer in the UK.  This
has very important implications for the evolving structure of scholarly
communications. 

_________________

Reed and Google in talks to share revenue 

James Robinson, media business correspondent
Sunday September 19, 2004
The Observer 

Reed Elsevier is in discussion with internet search engine Google about a
possible revenue-sharing agreement.

Executives from the publishing group have had several meetings with Google
and are trialling the concept, which would see Reed receive a small
payment for each user directed to one of its websites.

Reed's scientific publishing business generates around a third of the
group's profits, and some industry analysts regard Google and other search
engines as potential competitors.

Reed charges subscribers to its medical journals, which include The
Lancet, thousands of pounds a year, but it has invested millions of pounds
in moving some of its content online through its Science Direct service
and other websites. Its total online revenue has increased from �120
million to �1.2 billion over the past 10 years.

Many scientists post their research on university websites, which can be
accessed free of charge. Google directs its users to Reed's sites, but
Reed does not now receive a share of the revenue generated by the traffic.

Google has similar revenue-sharing arrangements with other companies, but
a deal with Reed would be one of the biggest of its kind. Reed could come
to similar agreements with Yahoo and Microsoft.

-- 
Joe Esposito