Vancouver-based BitLit announced today that it has signed a deal to bring Elsevier content to its ebook publishing platform. BitLit’s Shelfie mobile app lets readers download or purchase a discounted ebook version of their print edition books by snapping a quick photo. The agreement adds Elsevier’s health, science, and technology content to BitLit’s catalog of over 40,000 titles.
Speaking with BitLit’s CEO, Peter Hudson, he seemed optimistic that the partnership was a sign that publishers are warming to new distribution models for its digital content. “The publishers are starting to move mentally towards the idea of new business models around digital,” he said. “More and more publishers are starting to sign up to an all-you-can-eat subscription model. I think mass market publishers are becoming more comfortable with bundling as a business model.“
Hudson indicated that the reason for that comfort may not be coming from an industry wide change of heart, but ongoing frustration with Amazon’s dominance in the space.
“They’re so frustrated with Amazon, they don’t even say the word Amazon,” Hudson told me. “They say ‘Seattle’, or ‘big book retailer’ – it’s actually a little like Voldemort. It’s actually a running joke at publishing conferences that no one ever says the ‘A word’.”
With Amazon’s recent fight with Hachette sending ripples throughout the industry, publishers are more willing to experiment. Harper Collins, known for its publishing experiments, has already signed on with BitLit as a pilot, and Hudson is confident that relationship will continue. Which is good news for BitLit, because Hudson knows that the company’s user experience dies without content.
“If you take that shelfie, and there’s no books on it that are available, that’s disappointing.”
This is good news for eBook/digital media consumers like me! 🙂 I personally love the “consume-all-you-can” paradigm, and competition is great, anywhere. I’d love me a diversity in digital media players, and it’s good to hear that BitLit is standing up to what was practically an undisputed, unchallenged monopoly. Here are high hopes for BitLit! 🙂
As someone who spent 4 years fighting Amazon in the eBook market, I admire BitLit’s conviction to enter a market with them. It’s worth noting, however, that Kindle represents 11% of AMZN sales and continues to grow. They will protect their market (after all, books is where they started) to no end. As BitLit, it’s like a lightweight going up against a heavyweight. The odds are stacked against them.