Praenumeration (German: Pränumeration) was an early form of the
subscription business model
The subscription business model is a business model in which a customer must pay a recurring price at regular intervals for access to a product or service. The model was pioneered by publishers of books and periodicals in the 17th century. It ...
. It was a common business practice in the 18th century book trade in
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
. The publisher offered to sell a book that was planned but had not yet been printed, usually at a discount, so as to cover their costs in advance. The business practice was particularly common with magazines, helping to determine in advance how many subscribers there would be.
For example, when
Johann Heinrich Zedler decided to issue a collection of works of
Martin Luther
Martin Luther ( ; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, Theology, theologian, author, hymnwriter, professor, and former Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. Luther was the seminal figure of the Reformation, Pr ...
he advertised that the book would be for sale through praenumeration at the
Leipzig
Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...
Easter Fair in 1728, with the first volume to be available at the following
Michaelmas Fair in early October.
When the eleventh and final volume was issued in 1733, Zedler found himself in difficulty. He had been using praenumeration payments for the future volumes to pay the bills for previous volumes, and now the last bills were due with no future payments to cover them.
See also
*
Crowdfunding
Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and Alternative Finance, alternative finance, to fund projects "withou ...
, 21st-century version
References
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Business models
German books
18th-century books