The Benefits of Distribution
SALES
The museum and gallery sector is the primary source of documentation on Canadian art and artists yet sales of exhibition catalogues have been typically low. This is not because of lack of quality or interest but because the museum and gallery sector operates outside of the world of retail bookselling.
ABC Art Books Canada not only greatly facilitates purchases for customers already interested in your publications, we expand the market. A full distribution service offering accessibility, promotion, discounts and returnability puts exhibition catalogues on an equal footing with books from any art publisher. The national and international demand for publications distributed by ABC is proof that the world is interested in Canadian art and artists.
REVENUE
By placing your publications into distribution, with somewhat larger print runs on selected publications, you can continue to meet your existing obligations toward artists, lenders and contributors and at the same time earn an independent revenue. As our publishers can attest, even with a split on net sales the income produced by ABC is greater than what they have been able to achieve on their own.
This vital publishing sector, marked by low print runs, giveaways and leftovers, is the least cost-effective in the publishing industry when it can in fact become one of the most productive programs of any institution.
COST
ABC covers all costs of promotion and sales at no charge to participating museum and gallery publishers. An industry standard split on net sales is your only financial commitment. By withdrawing from direct distribution you also eliminate the expense your institution now incurs through promotion, shipping, invoicing and accounts receivable.
A FUTURE FOR EXHIBITION CATALOGUES
The international publishing community faces the same pressures as any other industry. Consolidation is increasing at every level, forcing smaller players to adopt new strategies or face exclusion. ABC Art Books Canada brings to the world the only large selection of Canadian exhibition catalogues. By offering a critical mass of specialised publications we reach markets that are otherwise inaccessible to Canadian museum and gallery publishers.