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Paul Haney MusicFan
Joined: 01 April 2005
Online Status: Offline Posts: 1742
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Posted: 28 October 2021 at 10:40am | IP Logged
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Just a quick update...
The color version of the book will be arriving at our offices in the next few days. We will start shipping them next week
(first week of November) - please allow 2-3 weeks for delivery.
The B&W version should be here in about 2 weeks.
Both versions are doing great, sales-wise. We may run out of the limited color edition by the end of the year.
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kingofskiffle MusicFan
Joined: 19 November 2018
Online Status: Offline Posts: 32
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Posted: 29 October 2021 at 7:35am | IP Logged
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Really pleased it's doing well. Have to admit I would not have thought adding
albums to a singles book would have been a big seller... so kind of shows what
little I know!
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jebsib MusicFan
Joined: 06 April 2006
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Posted: 30 October 2021 at 9:00am | IP Logged
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Paul,
I know this came up a couple of years ago - but with the size of your tomes
and the marketplace advancing (acceptance, ubiquity, necessity of all things
digital), have you given any recent thought to releasing books digitally?
(The drawback is that collectors like me love a good bookshelf hardcover
(Personally don't like digital books) but the world seems to be evolving /
adapting to them quickly. I didn't like the Adobe Digital Editions version of the
15th edition (clunky, jerky scrolling) but surely the tech has improved in the
last 6 years.)
This way your info could be complete in one volume, in color, impervious to
update size restrictions...
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Paul Haney MusicFan
Joined: 01 April 2005
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Posted: 31 October 2021 at 3:27am | IP Logged
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We've dabbled in e-Books, but our customers just seem to still want the print editions. A big problem is that
our books are reference books and not novels where you read one page at a time. They just don't translate well
to the format.
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davidclark MusicFan
Joined: 17 November 2004 Location: Canada
Online Status: Offline Posts: 1099
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Posted: 31 October 2021 at 8:38pm | IP Logged
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Interesting, I have the e-books for Pop Annual 1955-2011 and Top Pop Singles
1955-2010. Although I dislike the approach to placing later re-entry of singles
under the first entry, I find I like the fact that I can search for things easily - like
flipping pages in a traditional book. Plus, dual living (on hold for now...) means
that I don't want to have to carry books with me when I fly across the world -
having them "e" is truly a convenience I have come to like. That's just me, in a
situation I know I don't share with (most) other board members.
__________________ dc1
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PopArchivist MusicFan
Joined: 30 June 2018 Location: United States
Online Status: Offline Posts: 1524
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Posted: 31 October 2021 at 9:39pm | IP Logged
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The cost of putting an E-Book out has many benefits Paul which Mr. Whitburn should consider. Not only that many books in the years have gone out of print.
Making e-books
1) Ensures that after the print editions have had their time the book is still accessible
2) Are far cheaper than keeping books in stock
3) Do not cost anything more to offer to people on the website for sale
I honestly get why physical books for the first year or two should not be E-Books Paul so that the books can turn a profit. To however sit here and say that it doesn't translate well ignores a market that maybe Mr. Whitburn just simply doesn't understand. As David Clark said, reference books in the e-format are just as useful in an IPAD-IPHONE world for reference.
If it doesn't sell well it takes a lot more to turn a profit for a physical book than an E-Book. That E-Book requires a lot less time to break even because every purchase does not require the effort, printing and shipping a physical book demands. It doesn't require anything but money being sent to Mr. Whitburn and that's that since you have the E-store set up. Just my two cents.
Edited by PopArchivist on 31 October 2021 at 9:40pm
__________________ "I'm a pop archivist, not a chart philosopher, I seek to listen, observe and document the chart position of music."
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kingofskiffle MusicFan
Joined: 19 November 2018
Online Status: Offline Posts: 32
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Posted: 01 November 2021 at 1:24am | IP Logged
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I would dispute the idea that having E-Books does not cost (Your final
paragraph). I believe a hosting
fee is required if I am able to download the books at any point again, which is
how the Record Research books are set up. I agree completely that it is 'free'
if you go down the route of 'one download and then you have the file'. but I
believe that there is a fee to allow the user to keep re-downloading.
I would like E-Books as well, as I'm running out of space to store, but it could
be the way that the current E-Books are done is an issue. It's a little different
now to 10 years ago when E-Books first came out on the site, so might be
worth looking at different options than that which is currently on offer form
Record Research.
Edited by kingofskiffle on 01 November 2021 at 1:26am
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Paul Haney MusicFan
Joined: 01 April 2005
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Posted: 01 November 2021 at 2:58am | IP Logged
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Yes, there are storage fees involved with the e-Books. Also, the books must still be put
together, and that takes time and resources as well. Another issue is that our customer base is
older. At age 55, I'm on the younger end of the scale. The proof is in the numbers. Right now,
the print books outsell the e-books by a huge margin, it's not even in the same ballpark.
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Paul Haney MusicFan
Joined: 01 April 2005
Online Status: Offline Posts: 1742
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Posted: 01 November 2021 at 1:02pm | IP Logged
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The full-color version arrived today!
First orders going out this afternoon!
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jebsib MusicFan
Joined: 06 April 2006
Online Status: Offline Posts: 173
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Posted: 11 November 2021 at 11:46am | IP Logged
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Any updates on the 2010s chart book?
THAT would need two volumes!
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Paul Haney MusicFan
Joined: 01 April 2005
Online Status: Offline Posts: 1742
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Posted: 12 November 2021 at 2:51am | IP Logged
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jebsib wrote:
Any updates on the 2010s chart book?
THAT would need two volumes! |
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We are slowly but surely scanning the charts. Yes, it
will most likely be 2 volumes (due to Billboard expanding
the Hot 100 to 2-3 pages).
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ptgraphics MusicFan
Joined: 17 July 2014
Online Status: Offline Posts: 33
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Posted: 12 November 2021 at 9:24am | IP Logged
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You could sell a PDF of the book.
An ebook or epub could be made in 2 ways. Fixed and reflowable. Fixed
would be like a pdf where the text is the same and photos stay put.
Reflowable is the end user can adjust size of text but the photos move more
in response to text and page size.
I used to make epubs for my employer and they were given away on that
part of the iTunes Store. They were fixed epubs so it was just like a book.
You can sell them on the Apple and Amazon stores. The formats are
different though.
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ptgraphics MusicFan
Joined: 17 July 2014
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Posted: 12 November 2021 at 9:32am | IP Logged
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I want to add also that an online store also has the ability to update the
epub. So if you find mistakes or just want to add something the epub can be
re-downloaded. For Apple store they notify you that a new version is
available or at least they did when you open the epub. It’s been a few years
since I submitted epubs so stuff might have changed.
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PopArchivist MusicFan
Joined: 30 June 2018 Location: United States
Online Status: Offline Posts: 1524
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Posted: 12 November 2021 at 8:13pm | IP Logged
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Paul Haney wrote:
jebsib wrote:
Any updates on the 2010s chart book?
THAT would need two volumes! |
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We are slowly but surely scanning the charts. Yes, it
will most likely be 2 volumes (due to Billboard expanding
the Hot 100 to 2-3 pages). |
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Will you put up a PDF DVD-R disc similar to what you did the last volumes for the 60's through 00's?
__________________ "I'm a pop archivist, not a chart philosopher, I seek to listen, observe and document the chart position of music."
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Paul Haney MusicFan
Joined: 01 April 2005
Online Status: Offline Posts: 1742
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Posted: 13 November 2021 at 3:48am | IP Logged
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PopArchivist wrote:
Will you put up a PDF DVD-R disc
similar to what you did the last volumes for the 60's
through 00's? |
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Not sure. We haven't discussed that yet.
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