Showbiz Sandbox 420: A Closer Look at the Current State of the Publishing Industry

August 20, 2018

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When we talk about the publishing industry, we are usually looking at the trade market. Those are the books sold in bookstores, like the latest Stephen King title. But the publishing industry is made up of more than just trade. For instance, there’s also the education market like college and high school textbooks. While trade publishing has modestly righted itself revenue-wise over the past few years, all these other segments are down in sales, sometimes considerably.

Meanwhile an entire week has gone by without MoviePass changing the terms and conditions of its cinema-going subscription plans. Even so, the company’s investors are not happy and are suing the owners for tanking the stock.

We’ll also take a closer look at the music industry paper published by Citigroup last week. A lot of industry players have very convincing reasons why the way the report calculates its revenue and statistics is all wrong.

Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment news including how Conan O’Brien is trimming his nightly talk show to a half-hour, Sony Music will distribute the earnings from its Spotify investment to artists and the streaming television series that has hundreds of millions of viewers in China.

Go Watch It
https://gowatchit.com

comScore Announces Official Worldwide Box Office Results for Weekend of August 19, 2018
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/comscore-announces-official-worldwide-box-office-results-for-weekend-of-august-19-2018-300699200.html

China Box Office: ‘The Island’ Earns $39 Million to Beat Still Hungry ‘Meg’
https://variety.com/2018/film/asia/china-box-office-island-the-meg-1202909843/

Only 10 of 2017’s Top 100 Box-Office Hits Were Made in California
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/10-2017s-top-100-box-office-hits-were-made-california-1133097

Fan Bingbing’s Silence Fuels Rumors of Acting Ban
https://variety.com/2018/film/news/fan-bingbing-rumor-acting-ban-tax-evasion-scandal-1202902939/

MoviePass Parent Posts Big Loss as Shareholders Sue
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/moviepass-parent-posts-big-loss-as-shareholders-sue-1134979

Music Biz Slams Citi Report on Industry & Artist Revenue as ‘Inconsistent,’ ‘Inaccurate’: Analysis
https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/8469666/citi-report-music-biz-industry-artist-revenue-inconsistent-analysis

Playing To The Gods by Peter Rader
http://bookfilter.com/2017/10/10/playing-to-the-gods-2/

Asia Argento, a #MeToo Leader, Made a Deal With Her Own Accuser
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/19/us/asia-argento-assault-jimmy-bennett.html

China’s Imperial Palace Drama, Story Of Yanxi Palace, Shatters Viewership Records
https://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/entertainment/chinas-imperial-palace-drama-story-of-yanxi-palace-shatters-viewership

Travis Scott Charts All 17 Songs From ‘Astroworld’ on Billboard Hot 100
https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/8469930/travis-scott-charts-all-17-songs-astroworld-hot-100

‘Conan’ Cuts Music Performances; Booker Roey Hershkovitz to Exit (EXCLUSIVE)
https://variety.com/2018/music/news/conan-cuts-music-performances-1202903617/

Check’s In the Mail: Sony Music Disburses $750 Million to Artists in ‘Spotify Windfall’
https://variety.com/2018/music/news/sony-music-spotify-windfall-artists-labels-get-750-million-1202905781/

Disney Stands Firm on James Gunn Not Returning to ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’
https://variety.com/2018/film/news/james-gunn-guardians-of-the-galaxy-disney-firing-1202907016/

Trade Remained Publishing’s Brightest Spot in 2017
https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/77789-trade-remained-publishing-s-brightest-spot-in-2017.html

Aretha Franklin, Indomitable ‘Queen of Soul,’ Dies at 76
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/16/obituaries/aretha-franklin-dead.html

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