Big 5 Study Publishers ‘Oligopolize’ Scientific Field: Report

New study exposes oligopoly of 5 major publishers profiting over $1 billion from unchecked open access fees.

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A cabal of publishers has turned the world of academic research upside down. Five mammoth companies now control over half the publication of peer-reviewed journal articles, fueling a $1 billion oligopoly astride academia and influencing the science seen by scholars and the public.

This powerful group prioritizes pumping out research quantity over ensuring quality, with scientists having to fork over hefty sums just for the honor of being published, according to a new study by renowned academics in Canada and Germany, published on MIT Press Direct.

Top Publishers Charge Over $2,500 Per Paper

“Since the early 2010s, over half of all peer-reviewed journal articles have been published by a few for-profit companies that control the majority of scholarly publishing and contribute to an oligopolistic market structure,” the author wrote.