Amy Schumer‘s book will be published by Gallery on August 16 — and it has retained the proposal name, THE GIRL WITH THE LOWER BACK TATTOO. Funding Zola Books closed another round of funding last week. The new round adds something under $3.4 million since the company’s last announced funding in 2013. (That last round was extended beyond the original close to add funds for their purchase of Bookish assets.) The new round was led by previous investor Charles Dolan, founder of Cablevision. Zola hopes to expand the recent rollout of their Everywhere Store widget enabling print and ebook sales by other sites. Corporate […]
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At Ingram Content Group, chief information officer Pep Carrera will change roles and become chief operating officer at their VitalSource Technologies unit, relocating to Raleigh, NC. In turn, VitalSource coo Kent Freeman will take on the newly-created role of chief strategy and development officer, “supporting Ingram’s continued transformation and leading the delivery, management and incubation of Ingram’s future successful strategic partnerships and products.” At Penguin Young Readers’ sales department, Cristi Navarro has been promoted to director of national accounts. Kevin Cotter has joined Anonymous Content as director of literary affairs. Previously he worked in a similar role at Floren Shieh Productions. […]
Corporate: Harper Pairs with Producer; Ingram Acquires Aer.io; Hachette Buys Kero; and More
HarperCollins is trying another relationship with a video producer. This time, they have “agreed to a strategic framework” with Insurrection Media to option and develop books in sci-fi, drama, and comedy for both digital video and linear television series. They will “jointly identify key titles that are most compelling and suitable for video series and then co-develop and produce shows to be owned and distributed by Insurrection in the U.S. and overseas on a multitude of over-the-top and linear video platforms.” The first announced title for development is Debra Driza‘s Mila 2.0 trilogy, published by Katherine Tegen Books. Overlooked by most outlets is that Driza’s work was […]
Germans Ask For Second Investigation, Into Amazon’s Audio Empire
After helping to spur a European Commission investigation into Amazon’s ebook contracts with publishers, announced this June, Germany’s Publishers and Booksellers Association filed a new complaint with Germany’s Cartel Office and the EC. Now they are asking for additional scrutiny of Amazon’s Audible subsidiary, accusing the company of misusing the leverage from a near-monopoly in digital audiobooks. German accounts claim Audible wants to move publishers to a “flat-rate” service, and has threatened to stop offering publishers’ product if they do not agree to the new terms. Association head Alexander Skipis says, “The business model of Amazon and Audible is aimed […]
Next, Scribd Curtails Unlimited Audiobooks
Following substantial reductions in their catalog of romance titles at the end of June, Scribd announced in a blog post last Friday a substantial curtailment of the distinctive unlimited audiobooks included in their monthly subscription offering. As of September 20, subscribers will be limited to a single audiobook per month from one part of the collection. To listen to a second audiobook within the same subscription month, members will have to pay the equivalent of another month’s fee — positioned as purchasing an “audio credit” for $8.99. At the same time, Scribd says they will keep some kind of catalog […]
Recorded Books Is Sold to Another Private Equity Owner
Wasserstein & Co. has sold Recorded Books — which incorporates their earlier purchases of HighBridge Audio and Tantor Media — to LA-based private equity firm Shamrock Capital Advisors. Shamrock’s investment portfolio includes Isolation Network, the parent company of INScribe Digital. Terms were not disclosed, though Wasserstein was thought to have paid approximately $25 million for Tantor Media at the beginning of this year. Dow Jones says that Shamrock typically invests anywhere from $15 million up to $100 million. The price was not released when Wasserstein first bought Recorded Books from Haights Cross in 2014, either. In the last reported data, […]