"Chunking" Content: Disaggregation by Market Channel

Michael CairnsAAUP Meeting – Chicago 2012

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Real or Hype?

• Chunking educational content is inexorable• Large textbook publishers may be disadvantaged• Potential for price erosion• Many media examples

o Musico Newspaperso Televisiono Journals

• COPE:o Create Once Publish Everywhere

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Firstly, the Educational Content in Market Context

Ref: Bowker Pubtrack BISG Making Information Pay Conference

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Pricing Always Slopes Up

Ref: Bowker Pubtrack BISG Making Information Pay Conference

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Individual Books Are Big Business

Ref: Bowker Pubtrack BISG Making Information Pay Conference

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The Franchise Textbook

Ref: Bowker Pubtrack BISG Making Information Pay Conference

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Custom Small but Growing

Ref: Bowker Pubtrack BISG Making Information Pay Conference

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Addressing the Changes in Education

• Managing the cost of education & materials• Faculty and educators demand more choice• Seeking intuitive and flexible content creation

processes• Expect to share content and collaborate across

‘networks’• Migration to electronic delivery of content• Growth of open-access and ‘free’ content• Growing expectation for highly customizable

solutions for publishers and institutions

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Thoughts and Trends

• ‘Traditional’ content structured linearly• Books/Textbooks all inclusive monoliths

o Generally to a set formula

• Movement from ‘Creamy’ to ‘Chunky’: Digital componentso Chapters, summaries, tests, supplemental material, etc.

• Higher Ed leading progression seemingly inexorableo Cost driverso Open sourceo Foundations and government

• Technology enabling this transition

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Some Examples

• Indiana Universityo Digital platformo Content agreements with publishers

• California State Universityo Publisher agreements: Cengage

• MIT Open Coursewareo Web-based publication of virtually all MIT course contento Students and ‘self-learners’ account for 85% of access

• University of Minnesota

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Publisher Value Challenges

Custom and disaggregated content distribution models are inevitable so how will publishers benefit?

• Permissions revenues considered incremental will become a primary revenue source

• Participating on/in platforms to for broad distribution

• Improve metadata at the ‘unit’ level• Offer your own custom publishing solution• Link content across library: Leverage the

principles of cross and upselling

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Bookstore Value Proposition

Custom solutions help college bookstores to take advantage of real tangible benefits from a custom publishing program.

Opportunity:• Exclusive content for the bookstore: Single source for

student• Implement a flexible, specific business model for each

bookstore• Custom content drives student demand*

o Higher sell-through: 91-99% o Lower (none) custom returnso Increased foot traffic: Students buy more

• Students more satisfied with content’s higher utility• No product substitution available: custom by definition• Presents opportunities to reduce labor & production costs* Research: NACS, Pearson Education

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Last word on Protecting Content and Copyright

• Georgia Case;o Making content easily available and priced reasonably

• Fact: Users want to pay for contento Apple experience with music

• Clearing copyright – either via CCC or directly with a publisher – has been cumbersomeo Users give-up and/or steelo Technology enables better solutionso More policing – specifically LMS restraints.

• Easier access to appropriate permissions will drive revenue

• Permissions models will become more simple & transparent

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In the end we all try to “COPE”

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Michael CairnsManaging Partner

Michael.Cairns@InfoMediaPartners.com908 938 4889

Twitter: @personanondata