New Diamond Distribution policies expected to have massive effects

Diamond Distribution, the largest and practically only North America distributor of periodical comics, is in the process of rolling out a few new business processes, and the results could be a very different landscape for comics publishing. Or, as non Diamond-exclusive publishers told us in private emails (a sampling):

“It is going to be rough for us Top 20 publishers. It will be epic for anyone smaller. Lots of folks will vanish due to this, even some bigger guys.”

“I expect the new threshold to annihilate many of the smallest publishers and keep a lot of new ones out of Previews.”

“I suspect that this will put a severe crimp on what little remains of the B&W pamphlet field.”

and

“This is the single biggest event since Diamond became the monopoly that ruled comics.”

Hysteria or prescience? Read on.

http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/2009/01/19/new-diamond-policies-expected-to-have-massive-effect/

and image. Top Cow may be able to hang on by a thread, but anyone smaller than that will disappear. The only possible solution is that another distributor comes along and challenges Diamond.