Book publishers
Among German fiction and non-fiction publishing houses, the three leading players were Random House, Bastei Lübbe and Carlsen. Random House is part of the international publishing group Penguin Random House. In turn, it includes 47 other publishing companies and is among the most successful publishing companies on a national level in Germany. The Bastei Lübbe group is actually a media company existing in the form of a trade publisher. All three houses publish books in a variety of genres, as well as audiobooks, e-books and other digital media, though Carlsen is known in particular for its children's and young adult literature. In 2020, the German book trade generated an estimated 9.3 billion euros in revenue.Newspapers and magazines
One of the challenges confronting the newspaper market and, consequently, publishers, is falling circulation, with daily newspapers suffering year after year. A growing number of newspaper publishers in Germany offer paid content accessible online, which reflects the fact that selling printed copies alone is no longer enough to ensure profitability. Leading German publishing groups printing newspapers include Stuttgarter Zeitung, Axel Springer and Funke Media.Some of the best-known magazine publishers in Germany are (also) Axel Springer, Hubert Burda and Gruner + Jahr. Consumer magazines typically make up a large share of magazine sales and have a high reach, though German bestsellers additionally include news heavyweights such as Der Spiegel. However, just like newspapers, numerous titles on the German magazine market record quarterly circulation losses.
