ABA, Libro.fm Partner for Sale of Digital Audiobooks Through Indie Bookstores

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Libro.fm audiobooks logoOn Wednesday, November 9, the American Booksellers Association and digital audiobook provider Libro.fm announced a marketing partnership coupled with the integration of Libro.fm with hundreds of ABA’s IndieCommerce platform websites, enabling the convenient purchase of digital audiobooks.

Customers now have an option to purchase digital audiobooks — as well as print and e-books — while supporting their local, independent bookstore, and as an alternative to Amazon’s Audible.com.

“The continued growth in sales of digital audiobooks has been very good news for writers and readers. And the integration of Libro.fm with IndieCommerce now means that these online sales can be very good news for independent bookstores as well. ABA is grateful for all the work that Libro.fm has done, and for their commitment to the indie channel,” said ABA CEO Oren Teicher.

With the IndieCommerce integration, the digital audiobook appears on the IndieCommerce product page for titles available in that format; Libro.fm supplies the shopping cart and fulfillment via a store co-branded white label site, and the company is working to ensure that sales tax is being collected in all relevant states. Libro.fm will also provide a link back from the white label site to the referring store for purchase of the print book.

“We created Libro.fm because independent stores were getting left behind in the soaring growth of digital audiobooks, the fastest growing category in publishing,” said Libro.fm CEO Mark Pearson. “The IndieCommerce integration makes it seamless for a bookstore to sell both print and audio editions through their website as well as their Libro.fm co-branded storefront.”

More than 160 ABA member stores are currently selling audiobooks through Libro.fm; additional stores are expected to sign on to the program. Libro.fm helps the bookstore promote digital audiobooks through in-store and online marketing with a full catalog of resources.

According to Len Vlahos, incoming co-owner of Tattered Cover Book Store in Denver, Colorado, “With digital audiobooks being one of the fastest growing segments of the publishing industry, Tattered Cover was hungry for a solution. Libro.fm is a turnkey, seamless service, which provides our customers with a broad selection of digital audio at competitive prices. The only piece missing was the connection to our website, so the IndieCommerce integration is very welcome news indeed.”

Libro.fm, based in Seattle, Washington, is the independent store for digital audiobooks. It offers tens of thousands of DRM-free digital audiobooks, available for download and through its free iOS and Android apps. With a mission to encourage people to “choose indie,” Libro.fm has created both a high quality product with its DRM-free model and a platform that allows independent bookstores to remain competitive as audiobook sales continue to rise.

Learn more about working with Libro.fm by visiting ABA’s Business Services page on BookWeb. Booksellers can also visit BookWeb to sign up for IndieCommerce, ABA’s e-commerce platform for independent bookstores. Questions about Libro.fm or IndieCommerce can be directed to ABA IndieCommerce Director Phil Davies at [email protected] or (914) 406-7527.