Is the Global Academic Publishing Market Moving Toward Overconcentration?
Over the past two decades, the market for journal transfers among international academic publishers experienced a peak around 2015 and then fell into a downturn. In recent years, however, it has seen another small peak driven by the development of AI, with a total of 254 journals transferred in 2024.
Over the past decade, through the transfer market, SAGE has acquired a net total of 508 journals (539 transferred in and 31 transferred out), making it the academic publisher that has gained the most journals through transfers worldwide. Among the five largest publishers, only Springer Nature recorded a net transfer-out in the transfer market (32 journals transferred in and 75 transferred out).
In recent years, the global academic publishing market has shown continuous concentration. In 2024, the five largest international academic publishers accounted for 61% of global article output, far exceeding their 39% share in 2000.
As China seeks to secure a more important position in the global publishing industry, what direction the international academic publishing market will take remains to be seen.
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