Canongate caters to true fans with Bunny Munro

Jamie Byng and his publishing team sure are a bright bunch. The release of Nick Cave’s new novel The Death of Bunny Munro brings with it a basket of goodies to satisfy fans, true fans and even ordinary readers. In addition to the hardcover print book, there will also be a deluxe CD audio edition featuring Cave reading, with a soundtrack created with the perennially-hip Warren Ellis, and a download version that comes with an enhanced edition so the book can be both read and listened to on iPhone. Finally, there will also be a signed, numbered, limited-edition slipcase version.

Kevin Kelly defines True Fans thus:

A True Fan is defined as someone who will purchase anything and everything you produce. They will drive 200 miles to see you sing. They will buy the super deluxe re-issued hi-res box set of your stuff even though they have the low-res version. They have a Google Alert set for your name. They bookmark the eBay page where your out-of-print editions show up. They come to your openings. They have you sign their copies. They buy the t-shirt, and the mug, and the hat. They can’t wait till you issue your next work. They are true fans.

There are some exciting business models around the idea of producing multiple versions of an artistic product to cater to audiences who have different levels of engagement with your content. The music industry has been doing this for years with limited editions, and book publishers do it too (special blood-red edged Twilight saga, anyone?)

But Canongate has done two really smart things with Bunny Munro. First, it has recognised that in Nick Cave it has a cult artist with an established fan community that will cross media boundaries to follow him. Hence, Canongate is not really just his book publisher. Canongate is a producer/promoter. Second, it has understood the power of different digital channels to bring this book to audiences.

It would never have been enough to simply prodce an e-book edition of this novel. Canongate’s digital strategy is not a marketing campaign but an integrated approach to publishing multiple versions of the book in different media. Each version is capable of making sales to a niche, but collectively they reinforce each other to create a value-packed “basket of goodies” for fans and collectors. Smart. Very smart.

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