Re: Future of the "subscription model?"

["John P. Abbott" <AbbottJP@appstate.edu>]

Joe wrote:

  > Of course, for a publisher to be a winner, whether with or
  > without high prices, it takes an absolutely outstanding
  > editorial program.

I don't see that.  When a few publishers control 1000's of 
titles, the forces at work in the marketplace are more complex 
than the best-are-the-winners or the winners-are-the-best.  When 
an entity exerts great influence on the market, forces other than 
quality are at work in preserving their dominance...see 
Microsoft, iTunes, Blue Cross/Blue Shield.  For a small publisher 
to be a winner, an excellent product is required, but for those 
publishers on the far left of the long-tail distribution, quality 
is less critical than the strategic inertia they exert on many 
market axes.

John

John P. Abbott, MS MSLS
Associate Professor & Coordinator, Collection Management
University Library
Appalachian State University
Boone, NC  28608
abbottjp@appstate.edu