Listening to audio in Wroclaw as a consortium of publishers ask for permission to open a joint audiobook and ebook sales platform. Image: Getty: Massonstock
By Jarosław Adamowksi | @JaroslawAdamows
Pending Regulatory Approval
A group of prominent Polish publishers and booksellers have unveiled an audiobook and ebook platform, designed to compete against other similar ventures active in the Polish market, citing negative experiences with third party platforms.The group’s members include Rebis, Media Rodzina, Muza, Nasza Księgarnia, Prószyński Media, Publicat, Znak, Zysk i S-ka, and Dressler Dublin.
To carry out the development of their new shared platform, the publishers and associated booksellers have filed an application with Poland’s competition watchdog called UOKiK. Under Polish law, the UOKiK’s approval is mandatory for all takeovers and mergers of Poland-based companies if the concerned entities posted combined worldwide revenues of at least €1 billion (US$1.2 billion), or €50 million (US$57 million) in the domestic market in the year that precedes the venture.
UOKiK must give its approval to such an undertaking as these entities combined exert a major impact on the Polish book market.
The platform’s establishment “will allow increased competition in this market,” according to the companies’ position on their venture, including “transparency into the sales of audiobooks and ebooks,” making a reference to the controversies involving certain platforms which have not correctly reported their sales to publishing houses.
Monika Szymborska
Monika Szymborska, a spokesperson and public relations coordinator for Prószyński Media, tells Publishing Perspectives that the project has long been in the making, as local industry players have drawn lessons from the pandemic.
“Since the COVID-19 pandemic,” Szymborska says, “we’ve observed a spike in interest in ebooks and audiobooks, and we see that there are more and more fans of consuming books in such formats.”
At the same time, she says that other reasons pushing the group to launch a joint platform are related to some negative experiences that local publishers have had in using third parties to make their titles available as e-books and audiobooks in Poland.
“Such a new platform that will be jointly used by publishers seems to be a very positive solution,” Szymborska says, particularly in light of the recent highly unpleasant experiences in this market. This is because such a platform guarantees a transparency in financial settlements of the sale of audiobooks and e-books, ensuring that publishers and authors receive honest revenues, and guaranteeing to readers a rich and high-quality offer of titles.”
Current VAT in Poland on Books: 5 Percent
From the home page of Zysk i S-ka, one of the publishers in the Polish consortium of houses hoping to open a joint sales site for digital-format books. Image: Zysk i S-ka
She names no specific company, but Szymborska may be referring to controversies surrounding the conflict between a group of publishers and the ebook and audiobook subscription service Legimi. That company has seen a rapid expansion in recent years outside Poland, pursuing development in Germany and China.
However, Legimi’s expansion in Poland has been undermined by its row with publishers who have alleged that the company of incorrectly reported the sales of their titles offered in digital formats. The company denies any wrongdoing.
In October, Wojciech Szot reported for the daily Gazeta Wyborcza that local publishing houses pulled some 30,000 titles from Legimi’s offer to libraries. In this option, publishers agreed that their e-books were preferably priced, but later alleged that the platform had offered them at the same prices to corporate clients. The company continues to deny wrongdoing.
Meanwhile, Poland’s value-added tax (VAT) rates are currently set at 5 percent for books, ebooks, and for the output of local and regional presses, while an 8-percent rate is applied to national newspapers and magazines.
From the home page of Prószyński Media, one of the publishers in the Polish consortium of houses hoping to open a joint sales site for digital-format books. Image: Prószyński Media
More from Publishing Perspectives on digital publishing is here, more on audiobooks in particular is here, more on ebooks is here, more on bookselling is here, and more on the Polish book publishing industry is here.