Att funka i ljud En intervjustudie om ljud- och e-bokstjänsternas påverkan på bokbranschen

Abstract

This thesis analyses publishers approach to the increasing domination of e- and audiobook distributors. By interviewing five publishers from various publishing houses two questions are examined: How is the literature affected by the fact that audio- and e-book services are almost as popular as bookstores and how does that affect the power balance in the book industry? The result shows that all publishing houses are adapting to fit the audiobook apps, either by editing their more commercial books to fit the format or by choosing literature that has potential to be successful as audiobooks. The power balance in the book industry is now more polarised and more equal at the same time. On one hand the two big publishing houses Bonnier and Norstedts are connected to the two largest streaming services,which means they have great power and control over the book chain. On the other hand it’s easy, as a small publisher, to add your books to the audio and e-book distributors and have them be chosen by readers. The analysis shows that the increased dominance of audio- and e-book distributors are making reading more accessible, but it’s also a gate-keeper in the process of making the popular even more popular.