From "one roll in hand" to "one screen and ten thousand rolls"
——Analyze the new development trend of digital reading industry
【spotlight】
Nowadays, on the commuting road of the subway, it has become a trend to take out mobile phones to read e-books. From paper books to e-books, from physical bookstores to online bookstores, reading itself has not changed, but the way of reading is changing with each passing day. With the advent of e-books and online novels, reading objects have begun to digitize; with the introduction of computers, mobile phones, and e-readers, the digitization of reading methods has also continued to iterate. With the development of 5G, live broadcast, virtual reality (VR) and other technologies, what new changes will digital reading usher in? How will the virtual and physical, online and offline readings be further integrated?
Technology helps create holograms and full-scene reading
Enter the Cloud VR Bookstore, stroll through the real scenes of "Chonghong Bookstore" such as Zhongshuge and Xiaofeng Bookstore, experience the beauty of the bookstore's furnishing space, select and purchase favorite knowledge content and products; obtain ultra-high-definition lossless audio-quality listening resources through 5G technology; Holographic, full-scene immersive AI listening experience in different roles and scenes ... Nowadays, with the rapid development of the digital reading industry, these online reading scenes have gradually come into reality.
Recently, the 2020 China Digital Reading Cloud Conference opened. For the first time, the conference took the form of an online virtual venue to fully demonstrate the changes 5G has brought to the digital reading and pan-cultural industries. In addition to the cloud shopping VR bookstore, participating users can also watch the live streaming of the big coffee, listen to the online reading of famous experts, buy IP derivatives from the cloud, and experience the latest 5G technology in the cloud. The data shows that the number of participants in the cloud has exceeded 20 million three days before the digital reading cloud conference.
In recent years, the development process of the digital reading industry has been accelerating, the scale of the industry has continued to expand, and the scale of users has increased substantially. According to the data of "China Digital Reading Report 2019", the overall size of China's digital reading industry market reached 28.88 billion yuan in 2019, with a growth rate of 13.5%, and the overall user scale reached 470 million. The willingness of users to pay for e-books has also increased significantly. During the Spring Festival this year, the average daily number of mobile reading apps was 130 million independent devices, and over 70% of users said they spent much more time reading than usual.
“Behind the scale of 470 million digital reading users, on the one hand, the industry ’s macro policies have promoted the production of more high-quality digital reading works, which has further unlocked the potential of excellent works from the source of themes and content creation. On the other hand With the upgrading of the industry's digitalization, various reading platforms have developed in a blowout style, and the diversified choices of content and reading formats have created a new round of demand expansion in the market. "Migu reading related person analysis said.
In the process of promoting the development of the digital reading industry, support policies have been issued in many places. Hainan integrated resources to create a digital reading platform, launched digital collection resources, digital farmhouse bookstores, and electronic newspaper reading screens, which broadened the digital reading channels; Zhejiang proposed to give full play to the agglomeration effect of the Hangzhou National Digital Publishing Industry Base and the advantages of Chinese online writer village resources. Promote the development of high quality and high quality online literature in Zhejiang. Beijing, Shanghai, Sichuan, Jiangsu and other places also introduced encouraging policies aimed at supporting online literary creation and expanding the online entertainment product chain.
The development of the digital reading industry is also inseparable from the help of 5G, artificial intelligence, virtual reality and other technologies. With the emergence of new technologies and new models, cross-screen interconnection of electronic devices such as mobile phones, computers, e-readers, cross-scenes interaction of immersive methods such as audio, video, live broadcast, and VR \ AR \ MR, promote the continuous dissemination of knowledge through time And space constraints. With the help of science and technology, the boundaries of reading media and scenes are becoming more and more blurred. Holographic and full-scenario reading modes have become the mainstream development trend of digital reading in the future.
Feng Shixin, deputy director of the Publishing Bureau of the Central Propaganda Department, pointed out: "High-quality digital reading depends on the organic combination of high-quality published content and advanced digital technology. It is necessary to actively adapt to the law of information dissemination in the era of all media, reshape the production dissemination process, and explore diversified digital Read the realization path and way, and truly realize the transition from mutual addition to mutual integration. "
Relying on the characteristics of 5G ultra-high network speed, ultra-low latency, and ultra-large connection, more subdivided and vertical reading fields have sprouted and progressed. In the field of listening to books, audio content and smart headphones complete the transformation of reading from "visible" to "audible". The maturity of artificial intelligence and virtual reality technology has made digital reading further progress from "visible" to "visual", satisfying readers' concrete understanding of abstract concepts and fuzzy scenes.
Yunshang VR bookstore expands physical bookstore development space
After the new crown pneumonia epidemic struck, the survival of the physical bookstore fell into a storm. In the most difficult period of the epidemic, a letter of help from the one-way street bookstore called "One-way Crowdfunding for 15 Years" showed the survival predicament of the physical bookstore in front of the public. Problems such as declining sales volume and pressure on store rentals have become a dilemma facing the entire bookstore industry. In the book retail market, book sales in physical stores are not optimistic.
Facing the survival test brought about by the epidemic, many bookstores took the initiative to go online and start self-help. A few days ago, Bai Yansong supported six private bookstores peer-to-peer with a 180-minute live broadcast and connection. In the live broadcast, bookstores such as Sisyphus, Yanjiu, Zhongshuge, Quanzhou Fengyasong Book Bureau displayed their own brand characteristics, driving bookstore sales. In addition, through the live broadcast of "cloud punch card" shops, online lectures, writer talks, new book releases and other activities, it attracted more readers for physical bookstores with insufficient customer traffic under the epidemic. The online expansion has brought a new life to the operation of physical bookstores, which has allowed many bookstores to "support", and also made bookstore operators think more about the bookstore business model.
During the Digital Reading Cloud Conference, digital bookstores have developed and innovated further. Yunshang VR Bookstore, created by China Mobile Cloud VR and Migu CITIC Bookstore, truly "moves" offline bookstores online. Readers can purchase paper books and e-books in the Yunshang VR Bookstore, and develop "physical + cloud The "on" bookstore development model. The 5G rich media book provided in the Yunshang VR bookstore combines a variety of rich media forms such as 3D animation, video audio, and surround graphics, so that reading can realize the interaction of all time and space, all scenes, and all media, which greatly enriches The user's reading experience.
At present, digital reading is changing people's reading methods and habits. For many readers, using the kindle reader, WeChat reading App to read e-books, and listening to books through the Himalayan App has become a new reading trend.
A few days ago, the results of the Seventeenth National Reading Survey published by the China Press and Publication Research Institute showed that in 2019, the comprehensive reading rate of all adult national media in China maintained a growth momentum, and the exposure rate of various digital reading methods has increased. While more than half of the adult population prefers digital reading, the proportion of readers who prefer mobile phone reading has increased significantly, and the proportion of readers who prefer paper reading has declined.
In the early stage of development, digital reading has indeed brought an impact on physical bookstores. Xu Shengguo, director of the Publishing Research Institute of the China Press and Publication Institute, believes that physical bookstores need to use new technologies to strive for online and offline integration and provide a platform for omnichannel goods and services. Physical bookstores should produce their own content through online business, build their own industrial chain, develop "private domain traffic", and consciously use the influence and radiation of the network to bring traffic offline.
Digital technology extends the sales model of physical bookstores and broadens the reading scene for readers. Looking forward to the future development prospects of digital reading, the relevant person in charge of Migu Reading said that in the future, traditional paper books may use digital technology to integrate digital reading functions, such as code reading, AR reading, etc., to meet the needs of different types of readers. And expand the sales channels through the network platform; digital reading can also extend the life and benefits of the works by publishing excellent online original literary works as physical books, and continuously strengthen the reserve of high-quality publishing content.
"We should not antagonize digital reading with traditional paper reading, but to see their positive value in improving reading efficiency and promoting reading for all." Wu Cai, deputy director and research librarian of the Shanghai Municipal Party School Library He said that at present, 5G mobile networks and smart mobile terminals are stepping onto the "foreground" of digital reading. The new generation of mobile terminals presents strong vitality in portability, complete functions, and interesting reading. It will become a reliable choice for readers together with traditional paper documents.
Digital reading has a more diverse profit model
Recently, the dispute between the reading group and the authors of the platform contract has become a hot topic. The profit model of free reading, the author's copyright, and the copyright of works have caused widespread public concern. Faced with controversy, Cheng Wu, CEO and executive director of Yuewen Group, said that on the basis of maintaining and consolidating the existing paid reading model, through business model upgrades, it will open more value in the embrace of new technologies and industrial Internet. space.
At present, people's willingness to pay for knowledge is increasing. In the field of digital reading, readers' willingness to pay for reading is also showing growth. According to the data released by China Digital Reading Report, digital reading users are willing to pay 18.9 yuan for a single book in 2019, and 50% of users are willing to pay more than 20 yuan for a single e-book. The willingness to pay continues to increase.
"In addition to changes in consumption concepts, users are willing to pay for knowledge and creators' achievements, digital reading itself is increasingly improving in terms of content and experience, and it also attracts users to pay for high-quality content." Migu reading related person analysis However, what needs to be seen is that the paid reading market currently lacks a unified standard, and at the same time needs to strengthen the content and user services after payment. This requires paid reading to make quality content and further optimize the experience. The entire industry also needs to work together to formulate relevant service standards and guidelines to achieve industry and market standardization.
In addition to paid subscriptions, in recent years, the profit model of digital reading has developed in a more diversified direction. Statistics show that subscription revenue in the digital reading industry accounted for 60.8% in 2019, and subscription revenue is still the mainstay. Copyright revenue accounted for 28.9%, but its growth rate was significant, up from 164.5% year-on-year.
In recent years, the copyright of excellent online literary works has been deeply developed and used multiple times, which has effectively promoted the coordinated development of related industries. Many excellent original boutique IPs have become the source of many entertainment industries such as games, film and television, animation, etc., bearing the role of empowering multiple formats. At the same time, it also has an incentive effect on the creation of original authors, which can promote the manufacture of fresh "blood" and promote the healthy and healthy development of the entire industry.
According to industry analysts, in view of the unique characteristics of digital reading such as fragmentation and interactive content, future profitability should focus on content optimization, reading experience improvement, accurate and fast update and dissemination methods, and cross-border with other industries such as e-commerce Convergence to form structured revenue at multiple levels including content subscription, advertising, derivatives, and applications.
(Reporter Yao Yaqi)