A software publisher is a publishing company in the software industry between the developer and the distributor. In some companies, two or all three of these roles may be combined (and indeed, may reside in a single person, especially in the case of shareware).
Software publishers often license software from original author-developers with specific limitations, such as a time limit or geographical region for a royalty consideration. The terms of licensing vary enormously, and are typically secret.
The author-developers may use publishers to reach larger or foreign markets. Typically, the publisher will bear most of the cost of entering these markets. In return they pay the developer an agreed upon royalty payment.
The duties of the publisher can vary greatly depending on the agreement reached between the parties. Duties can include:
- Translating language elements into the local language
- Building demand for the software in the local market
- Produce & Design boxed software products
- Technical support of the product locally
- Advertising in the local market - this includes creating the advertising as well as paying to have it displayed
- Develop the many sales channels in order to reach the largest audience
- Market the software to the end customers
Publishers may also use developers to create software to meet a market need that the publisher has identified.
Read more about Software Publisher: List of Software Publishers
Famous quotes containing the word publisher:
“No publisher should ever express an opinion on the value of what he publishes. That is a matter entirely for the literary critic to decide.... I can quite understand how any ordinary critic would be strongly prejudiced against a work that was accompanied by a premature and unnecessary panegyric from the publisher. A publisher is simply a useful middle-man. It is not for him to anticipate the verdict of criticism.”
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900)