Book Barometer Showing “Stormy”

The 2020 Digital Consumer Book Barometer is to be released this week at the virtual Readmagine conference and Digital Publishing Summit.

Barometers measure air pressure as it rises and falls, presaging changes in local weather. The lower the pressure, the stormier the weather. Sometimes, the changes are gradual and occur leisurely over time. When a drop is sudden and dramatic, any resulting storm can be powerful and destructive.

The Digital Book Barometer for 2020 measures the publishing climate for e-books and audiobooks in Germany Austria and Switzerland (DACH) as well as Italy, Spain, Brazil and Mexico. A sharp picture is offered of the continuing evolution of digital formats and their adoption – even for as recently as the first quarter of this year, when the cyclone of the coronavirus pandemic had suddenly appeared on radar.

“When we look into the first indicators of the pandemic impact on the digital market, we realize quickly that the first thing it did was to reinforce development and changes and shifts that have been going on already for a while,” explains Digital Book Barometer editor and author Rudiger Wischenbart. “It’s not something entirely new, but it was a strong accelerator of change and transformation.”

This week, the latest edition of the Digital Consumer Book Barometer is set to be released at the virtual Readmagine conference and Digital Publishing Summit. A free copy is available for download at www.global-ebook.com