An imprint of a
publisher is a
trade name under which it publishes a work. A single
publishing company may have multiple imprints, often using the different names as
brands to
market works to various
demographic
Demography () is the statistical study of populations, especially human beings.
Demographic analysis examines and measures the dimensions and dynamics of populations; it can cover whole societies or groups defined by criteria such as edu ...
consumer segments.
Description
An imprint of a publisher is a
trade name—a name that a business uses for trading commercial products or services—under which a work is
publish
Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...
ed. Imprints typically have a defining character or
mission. In some cases, the diversity results from the
takeover of smaller publishers (or parts of their business) by a larger company. In the case of
Barnes & Noble
Barnes & Noble Booksellers is an American bookseller. It is a Fortune 1000 company and the bookseller with the largest number of retail outlets in the United States. As of July 7, 2020, the company operates 614 retail stores across all 50 U. ...
, imprints have been used to facilitate the venture of a bookseller into publishing.
In the video game industry, some game companies operate various publishing labels with
Take-Two Interactive credited as "the father of label" in their case the labels are wholly owned incorporated entities with their own publishing and distributing, sales and marketing infrastructure and management teams and their own respective subsidiaries also incorporated (Rockstar North Limited, 2K Vegas, Inc.). This model has influenced rivals including
Activision Blizzard,
ZeniMax,
Electronic Arts from 2008–2018,
Warner Bros. Interactive,
Embracer Group, and
Koei Tecmo. Take-Two have had such models in place since 1997–1998, and is seen as "a game holding company with autonomous game publishing and development subsidiaries".
Independently-owned game publishers like
Devolver Digital also use the word label to describe itself.
Use
A single publishing company may have multiple imprints, with the different imprints often used by the publisher to
market works to different
demographic
Demography () is the statistical study of populations, especially human beings.
Demographic analysis examines and measures the dimensions and dynamics of populations; it can cover whole societies or groups defined by criteria such as edu ...
consumer segments. For example, the objective of
Viking—an imprint of the
Penguin Group—is "
publish a strictly limited list of good nonfiction, such as biography, history and works on contemporary affairs, and distinguished fiction with some claim to permanent importance rather than
ephemeral popular interest."
References
Publishing
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