48 : The Global eBook Market: Current Conditions & Future Projections prevalence of mobile devices for on-screen reading and a high percentage of mobile Internet users reading “literary works through apps”. And the market for online literature is still growing rapidly, as shown by a report from iResearch, with revenue going from ¥150 million in 2010 to ¥600 million in 2011 (China Market Insight, BIBF 2012, by Lisa Zhang). On the content side, by far the most in uential indi- vidual player, according to all accounts, is Shanda Literature, or, as it was rebranded in 2011, Cloudary Corporation. According to reports from iResearch and iRead, Cloudary is said to control 72.1 percent of the revenue of this market segment (interview with Lisa Zhang for this report) of the booming online literature market in China. According to a Reuters report, Cloudary is preparing a $200 million IPO at the New York Stock Exchange (Reuters, May 24, 2011). Cloudary is a branch of Shanda Interactive Entertainment Ltd. (NASDAQ: SNDA), operating six websites for user-generated online literature, notably www.qidian.com and three o ine publishing companies, as well as digital magazines and an audio book platform. Among the top ten literary websites, ve websites are from Cloudary (interview with Lisa Zhang). The vast majority of Cloudary’s content—very often serialized works—is therefore generated by amateur writers who use the platform to build a community of readers even for some particularly successful authors, it is common to turn one’s works that were initially pub- lished online into printed books under a revenue-sharing agreement with Cloudary. As of March 2012, Cloudary claimed to have pub- lished on its websites nearly 6 million titles from more than 1.6 million authors (the equivalent of 10 percent of the population of Beijing), at a rate of 80 million charac- ters being written and published online every day. By March 2012, the accumulated number of users/readers was said to be 123 million (interview with Lisa Zhang). Cloudary had over 950,000 paying users in the fourth quarter of 2010, and 50 percent of the net online rev- worldwide nancial climate, but also with regard to domestic political developments in China. Many strate- gic decisions are currently on hold, in anticipation of a changing of the guard at the 2012 National People’s Congress in October 2012. In the meantime, industry leaders are reportedly focusing on acquiring more knowledge about the nancial sector, to better prepare for the coming expansions of their international and domestic markets. Change management, handling transitory processes, and developing human resources are among the top priorities for Chinese publishers, as they welcome their international counterparts at BIBF 2012, including Youngsuk Chi, the chairman of Elsevier John Makinson, Member of the Pearson Board and Chief Executive of Penguin Group and Ronald G. Dunn, President and Chief Executive O cer at Cengage. As a result of the “going out” policy, the development of international ambitions has been energetically encouraged by GAPP, and some 459 Chinese press and publishing organizations have recently opened overseas branches, 28 of which include book publishing activities (China Daily, August 28, 2012, quoting GAPP statistics). This development started as recently as 2007, when China Youth Publishing House (CYPI) became the rst Chinese publisher to start an o ce in London, now celebrating its fth anniversary during London Book Fair 2012. Beijing-based medical publisher People’s Medical Publishing House (PMPH) was founded in Beijing in 1953, and today is the leading publisher of medical texts and medical education in China. In 2008, it opened a wholly owned subsidiary in the US after having launched its rst English language title list in 2006 (Press release of PMPH, January 24, 2008). Online Literature There are at least three speci cs that shape the Chinese environment in digital publishing and reading: hugely popular online reading platforms, with 100 million Chinese Internet users who have opened accounts the
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48 : The Global eBook Market: Current Conditions & Future Projections prevalence of mobile devices for on-screen reading and a high percentage of mobile Internet users reading “literary works through apps”. And the market for online literature is still growing rapidly, as shown by a report from iResearch, with revenue going from ¥150 million in 2010 to ¥600 million in 2011 (China Market Insight, BIBF 2012, by Lisa Zhang). On the content side, by far the most in uential indi- vidual player, according to all accounts, is Shanda Literature, or, as it was rebranded in 2011, Cloudary Corporation. According to reports from iResearch and iRead, Cloudary is said to control 72.1 percent of the revenue of this market segment (interview with Lisa Zhang for this report) of the booming online literature market in China. According to a Reuters report, Cloudary is preparing a $200 million IPO at the New York Stock Exchange (Reuters, May 24, 2011). Cloudary is a branch of Shanda Interactive Entertainment Ltd. (NASDAQ: SNDA), operating six websites for user-generated online literature, notably www.qidian.com and three o ine publishing companies, as well as digital magazines and an audio book platform. Among the top ten literary websites, ve websites are from Cloudary (interview with Lisa Zhang). The vast majority of Cloudary’s content—very often serialized works—is therefore generated by amateur writers who use the platform to build a community of readers even for some particularly successful authors, it is common to turn one’s works that were initially pub- lished online into printed books under a revenue-sharing agreement with Cloudary. As of March 2012, Cloudary claimed to have pub- lished on its websites nearly 6 million titles from more than 1.6 million authors (the equivalent of 10 percent of the population of Beijing), at a rate of 80 million charac- ters being written and published online every day. By March 2012, the accumulated number of users/readers was said to be 123 million (interview with Lisa Zhang). Cloudary had over 950,000 paying users in the fourth quarter of 2010, and 50 percent of the net online rev- worldwide nancial climate, but also with regard to domestic political developments in China. Many strate- gic decisions are currently on hold, in anticipation of a changing of the guard at the 2012 National People’s Congress in October 2012. In the meantime, industry leaders are reportedly focusing on acquiring more knowledge about the nancial sector, to better prepare for the coming expansions of their international and domestic markets. Change management, handling transitory processes, and developing human resources are among the top priorities for Chinese publishers, as they welcome their international counterparts at BIBF 2012, including Youngsuk Chi, the chairman of Elsevier John Makinson, Member of the Pearson Board and Chief Executive of Penguin Group and Ronald G. Dunn, President and Chief Executive O cer at Cengage. As a result of the “going out” policy, the development of international ambitions has been energetically encouraged by GAPP, and some 459 Chinese press and publishing organizations have recently opened overseas branches, 28 of which include book publishing activities (China Daily, August 28, 2012, quoting GAPP statistics). This development started as recently as 2007, when China Youth Publishing House (CYPI) became the rst Chinese publisher to start an o ce in London, now celebrating its fth anniversary during London Book Fair 2012. Beijing-based medical publisher People’s Medical Publishing House (PMPH) was founded in Beijing in 1953, and today is the leading publisher of medical texts and medical education in China. In 2008, it opened a wholly owned subsidiary in the US after having launched its rst English language title list in 2006 (Press release of PMPH, January 24, 2008). Online Literature There are at least three speci cs that shape the Chinese environment in digital publishing and reading: hugely popular online reading platforms, with 100 million Chinese Internet users who have opened accounts the

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