Last week's announcement that Microsoft will join Google and Yahoo in the online book search field was met with praise from publishers for Microsoft's promise to adhere to copyright laws, but publishers were also eager to hear more details about Microsoft's plan for turning online book searches into an actual business. "We'll wait and see how things play out," said Holtzbrinck's Jeff Gomez.
Microsoft's initiative will begin by scanning public domain titles in cooperation with the Open Content Alliance before moving to add copyrighted works. A Microsoft spokesperson said the company has had some preliminary discussions with a few publishers about working together, and that some agreements could be announced next year. With Microsoft, Google and Yahoo all involved in scanning public domain titles, hundreds of thousands of PD works eventually will be searchable online. And although all publishers support the concept of giving books more exposure online, it is far from clear how publishers will profit from all of that searchable material. "There is a big question over how people will use what's available online," one publishing executive said.
Since it began one year ago, Google Print has given a lift to sales to some—mostly backlist—books. Google likes to point to the time when Cardinal Ratzinger became pope. According to Google, users searching on his name saw the Google Print listing for his book In the Beginning among their search results, which resulted in a tenfold increase in clicks on the title's "Buy this Book" links. While many publishers have said they have seen similar bumps for some titles, few publishers are receiving any money from advertising, largely because publishers are only entitled to receive a small portion of advertising revenue received by Google. But many publishers have turned down the small amount they could receive because they haven't developed a formula for sharing the money with authors.
Their bypassing of that small amount of advertising money highlights the lack of a business model that will allow publishers to monetize the searchability of books. The Microsoft/Yahoo approach, with its respect for copyright, is seen by publishers has a good first step, but, as Gomez noted, there is a long way to go before a final model is created. Even Amazon, which, as reported in PW Daily (Oct. 3) is working with publishers to develop a system of micropayments for reading books online, has yet to announce a comprehensive program.
