The publishing world is in danger and the only chance to avoid "an economic disaster" would be to deploy a recovery plan of 8 to 10 billion euros for all cultural and creative industries, argued Thursday Vincent Montagne, president of the National Publishing Union.
"Is publishing, at least in part, in danger?" Should we expect bankruptcies or a wave of layoffs? Yes, on both points ”, warned the president of the SNE in an interview published on the site of the professional magazine Livres Hebdo.
"Vital to deploy a recovery plan"
“The (publishing) houses whose capital is solid will be able to get by. But for the most fragile publishers, it will be much more difficult, ”insisted the president of the SNE. "If we remember that all of the cultural and creative industries in France represent an annual turnover of 90 billion euros, it is vital to deploy a recovery plan of the order of 8 to 10 billion euros to avoid an economic disaster, ”said Vincent Montagne.
"We must work on a large, ambitious recovery plan until the whole sector gets afloat," summarized the president of the SNE, also president of the Media-Participations group, European leader in comics (Dargaud, Dupuis, Le Lombard…), owner of the Seuil editions, of newspapers like Rustica or Famille Chrétienne and present in video games and audiovisual production.
“There will be fewer titles. And also certainly fewer publishers ”
Because, he pointed out, "even if there is emergency aid, it is currently either notoriously insufficient, or in the form of loans that will have to be repaid". The Covid-19 epidemic has affected the publishing and book industries. Bookstores have been closed for almost six weeks and book sales have plummeted. "The precision mechanics of the book market is totally hampered by the pandemic," said Vincent Montagne, who wants to reopen all bookstores on May 11.
The coronavirus folder here
Asked whether the publishers were going to reduce their production at the end of the confinement, the president of the professional publishers' union replied that "the current situation will inevitably lead to a reduction". “There will be fewer titles. And also certainly fewer publishers, ”he said.
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