In the world of self-publishing companies, there are more than a few scam outlets that steal not just authors’ hard-earned money, but also their hopes, aspirations, and even their reputations. Many of these companies have thankfully been thrown on the trash heap due to shady business practices, while some have even spent a good deal of time in court desperately trying to defend themselves (and failing) from fraud allegations.
So when a solid company with a good reputation and excellent customer service comes along, people tend to sit up and take notice. BookBaby is one such company, built from a 74-year-old business that has met the needs of independent creators all that time. But as first reported by The Digital Reader, big changes have been taking place at the outlet’s parent company, with new mergers, deals, splits, and more.
BookBaby is just one company within a much broader range of platforms. Several of the branches of this artistic family tree have been bought, namely, those that handle the music side of things.
“We were born from a 74 year old music business that’s been serving the needs of indie musicians,” Steven Spatz, president of BookBaby, told GoodEReader. “The company evolved through every technology shift – from vinyl records to cassettes to CDs. The businesses that we sold were our digital music brands – CD Baby, Ad Rev and Dash Go. DIY Media Group is the name of the new ownership group – the AVL Digital management team – that purchased the assets of the legacy brands Disc Makers, Merch.ly (our band merch brand) and of BookBaby.”
Fortunately, for indie authors looking for the right level of expertise and support, nothing has changed.
“What does this ownership change mean for BookBaby and its authors? It’s a continuation of our commitment to building the nation’s leading self publishing services company…Over the last 24 months we’ve invested millions of $$ in digital presses and bindery equipment to become one of the biggest book printers in southern New Jersey. In our new corporate alignment BookBaby is a much more prominent brand, and the management team will continue to fund the company in order to fuel its continued steep growth trajectory.”
Mercy Pilkington is a Senior Editor for Good e-Reader. She is also the CEO and founder of a hybrid publishing and consulting company.
