A comparison was made with the 19th Century gold rush when the enormous publicity was centered on the gold miners' opportunity to strike it rich. Most miners went bust, while those selling picks, shovels, booze and jeans made steady profits. However, the opposite occurred. With a significantly wider audience for new releases and an ability to substantially increase exposure, the sale of recorded music exploded and is ever expanding. So it will be with books and magazines, and many other forms of publishing.
Distribution is only one facet of publishing.
Providing the critical editorial content in the most useful format for a specialized audience is of basic importance. With new techniques for color, graphics, pictures and the mulitiplicity of presentation, paper products are here for a long time. Regardless of increased bandwidth on Internet and reduction of transmission costs, the special characteristics of printing on paper will keep that medium important. Successful publishers in electronic format, though, will have a whole new paradigm of interactive presentations that will develop their own audiences. If it follows most developing industries, certain big winners will set the standards and the broad public will settle on following them.