HarperCollins CEO Jane Friedman was in Sydney last week and chatted with the Australian’s Media column about her aims for the company – especially in regards to taking control of its digital content when Google’s library scanning project has other people up in arms.
“I was very concerned about Google actually physically owning our digital copies, so we said, ‘Why doesn’t HarperCollins take this lead?”‘ she says. “It’s going to be expensive (the price tag runs to seven figures) but we’re going to become a true 21st-century publisher; we are going to maintain and host the digital files for all of our intellectual property.” But Friedman also recognizes that Google is not just foe but also an important partner. “It’s up to us to recognise where we will be friends with them and where we will sue them,” she says.
She’s also greatly interested in the so-called “long tail” of publishing: HarperCollins’ backlist. “Before the internet, if you wanted to find people who collect mushrooms, you would have to do a tremendous amount of research to find the different societies,” she says. “Now you can google ‘mushrooms’ and get it at your fingertips, and you can get to those people and sell The Complete Book of Mushrooms, which was published 25 years ago.”
And lunch? Don’t even think about it. “Who needs lunch? It puts weight on you. I’d rather read through emails at my desk between meetings.”