In contrast to lobbying efforts in some state legislatures, the dominant service provider for library ebook lending reports that the market is thriving. Overdrive notes that in 2021, “With a focus on equity of access to books for all, libraries achieved all-time records for circulation while lowering the average cost-per-title borrowed.” Senior manager for public library content Karen Estrovich says in one press release flexible pricing models are an important element: “Top performing libraries utilized simultaneous access, cost-per-use and community reading programs to maximize access by increasing the number of available books in their collections.” Among the factors, American Rescue […]
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Authoritive Announces Funding, Legible Goes Public
Publishing-related startup Authoritive formally announced the completion of $5 million in seed funding, led by edtech venture firm Owl Ventures, and including Guardian Media Ventures. The Lean Startup author Eric Reis is also an investor and board member. Founded by literary agent Christy Fletcher, Figment co-founder Jacob Lewis, and technology executive Gene Cohen, Authoritive uses messaging technology to provide instruction, coaching and other learning experiences from experts — including such authors as Gretchen Rubin, Denise Hamilton, Sarah Knight Mark Bittman, Susan Cain, Danielle Town, and Tim Tebow. (While some are Fletcher & Co. clients, many are not.) In addition to direct-to-consumer […]
Bertelsmann’s RTL Will Launch Multimedia Streaming Service that Includes Audiobooks
Last month, Bertelsmann unveiled the first part of an ambitious digital multi-media subscription service in Germany from their giant broadcasting subsidiary, called RTL+. Starting with a rebranded version of their previous service streaming service, by the second quarter of next year the new multi-media subscription will combine “video, audio, magazine, and book publishing assets” from across Bertelsmann divisions. Bertelsmann ceo Thomas Rabe told FAZ, “Our idea is: one app, all media,” adding that, “There is no other offer like this in the world.” Their goal is 10 million subscriptions by 2026 in Germany and the Netherlands. RTL’s existing video streaming […]
BN Launches New eReader
Barnes & Noble will launch a GlowLight 4 ereader on December 8. CEO James Daunt insists in the announcement, “Barnes & Noble is now investing significantly in our Nook line of products. The GlowLight 4 is the second Nook device to launch this year as we set about to bring a new family of devices to our customers and to reinvigorate Nook in the coming months and years.” He added, “The team is working steadfastly to develop new NOOK products, and we are delighted to see such a strong pipeline of innovation into 2022.”
Inkitt Raises $59 Million
Berlin-based Inkitt announced another big round of funding, raising $59 million in a Series B (on top of previous rounds that raised at least $21 million). Axel Springer was a co-lead in the new round, with Michael Lynton participating, along with further funding from Stefan von Holtzbrinck (HV Holtzbrinck Ventures participated earlier) among others. The start-up is riding the wave the powered the sales of Wattpad (approximately $600 million), Radish ($440 million), and Tapas Media ($510 million). Inkitt tells TechCrunch their Galatea app has a run rate of over $38 million now. The company uses algorithms to help determine which […]
Substack Chips Away
In a perfect world the steady reporting on Substack and the world of book publishing would feature a stream of all the authors and publishers who turned down the well-financed subscription service’s offers, but that’s not how it works. First came the breaking news in the NY Post that Substack was going “to disrupt book publishing” with the high-profile signing of journalist Zack O’Malley Greenburg for a serialized book, We Are All Musicians Now. Then we learned about at length about the company joining the “burgeoning business” of book content by serializing two chapters of Anand Giridharadas’s book first published […]