Libro.fm is a small audiobook company and in October they ironed out an agreement with the American Booksellers Association. They managed to get their collection of over 70,000 titles in over 2,000 locations and bookstores could get a commision if their patrons purchased the audio edition of their favorite titles. Today, Libro.fm announced that 280 bookstores will be able to sell memberships for $0.99 for the first month and 14.99 each month thereafter, for one audiobook per month.
“The Libro.fm membership now gives audiobook listeners the opportunity to support their local bookstore every month and discover great audiobooks hand picked by expert indie booksellers,” said Mark Pearson, CEO, Libro.fm. “Most of us spend hours each day commuting and doing tasks where we could be listening to a book. Audiobooks are a great companion for escaping traffic, rocking your workout, or making the time pass while weeding, which is now one of my favorite activities.”
”The fact that they are challenging the mega-company deathgrip on audiobooks is INCREDIBLE and I love it,” says BookPeople, the Austin, TX, bookstore in a blog post titled, “Audiobooks Are Great and Libro.FM is the Best Thing Ever. “Not only that, they’re partnering with indie bookstores (like BookPeople!) to offer our customers more options—more options that also help the local economy and ensure authors get paid fairly.”
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
