News Corp buys Houghton Mifflin, acquires Lord of the Rings, other classics
Rupert Murdoch is a savvy businessman, and News Corp’s acquisition of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt is a savvy deal that gives him control of a massive collection of current and classic titles, including The Lord of the Rings, All the King’s Men and The Little Prince. The Hollywood Reporter has it that News Corp paid $349 million in cash for the deal, but they stand to make a lot more from development deals.
News Corp’s HarperCollins Publishing already owns the rights to J.R.R. Tolkien’s books in the UK, so this deal will give them exclusive ownership of Tolkien’s library. The timely deal arrives as Amazon continues production on its new Lord of the Rings series.
The Lord of the Rings is one of the 7000 titles that are included in the deal, in addition to works by authors like George Orwell and Virgnia Woolf. It’s a rich catalog.
Backlist titles like Lord of the Rings are where the money is at in publishing
HarperCollins fully expects to utilize Houghton Mifflin’s substantial backlist for growth opportunities. The publisher “also anticipates revenue synergies by leveraging its global scale and further expanding licensing opportunities,” according to a statement.
Though new books are being churned out at a faster pace than ever, thanks in large part to the ease with which authors can self-publish to avoid the middleman publishing companies, the real money in publishing lies in the lucrative backlist of titles that continue to sell, but also offer the dangling carrot of merchandise and possible development deals. Back catalog titles are also attractive because they can be acquired easily (particularly when the author is deceased).
Publishing companies have been merging at an alarming rate in recent years, with Penguin Random House being a prominent example. Mergers give publishers more power, but that power usually comes at the expense of smaller imprints for specialized titles, meaning less variety in the marketplace.
dark. Next. New Lord of the Rings edition to feature J.R.R. Tolkien’s own artwork
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