Tolino Media Partners with Libri for Enhanced eBook Logistics and Focus on Self-Publishing
When the Tolino Alliance came into existence five years ago, it was already clear that the German eBook market was about to be transformed. The previously unchallenged market leader, Amazon, suddenly faced the combined strength of German bookstores.
One crucial reason for the success of Amazon Kindle is still the self-publishing program “Kindle Direct Publishing,” or KDP for short. Through this, the retail giant offered independent authors an easy, quick, and profitable way to publish their works, creating a massive selection of affordable eBooks and numerous exclusive titles for its avid readers in no time.
Self-Publishing as a Driving Force
The fact that KDP is an integral part of Kindle’s success has also been recognized by the people behind the Tolino Alliance. While they were able to present a customer-friendly ecosystem at the start, they initially lacked an equivalent to Amazon’s self-publishing platform.
Now, “Tolino-Media” also offers independent authors the opportunity to publish their digital books. The foundation for this was laid in January 2015, when the eBook supplier Pubbles was renamed Tolino-Media, and Thalia acquired a one-third stake. In March 2015, the transition was made to make Tolino Media a platform for independent eBook publications.
Libri as the New eBook Supplier
This week, the restructuring continues: Tolino-Media announced via newsletter that in the future, eBooks will no longer be delivered directly to partner shops (Thalia, Weltbild & Co.), but will soon be handled by the logistics provider Libri.
Libri is no stranger to either the eBook market or the Tolino Alliance: Until 2012, the book wholesaler maintained its own eBook shop under Libri.de, followed by a name and domain change to eBook.de. Eventually, the Libri subsidiary was acquired by Hugendubel.
Since 2014, Libri has also been a Tolino partner, offering over 1,500 independent bookstores the opportunity to enter the Tolino business.
Change in 2019
While the groundwork for the transition is being laid now, the actual change is scheduled to occur in the first quarter of 2019.
From the perspective of readers and authors, Tolino-Media assures that nothing will change: “Nothing changes for you. Your eBooks will take a different path in the background to the Tolino partner shops, but the terms, your account, your contacts, and your usual processes remain the same.”
The reason for the change is given as follows: “We are realigning our business and will focus more on self-publishing and subscription models in the future. Additionally, innovation topics and services like marketing services for various retail partners are planned. That’s why the so-called ‘single eBook download business,’ or the delivery of eBooks to the Tolino partner shops, is being shifted to Libri.”
It is currently unclear exactly how the focus on self-publishing and subscription models will unfold in the future. If this explanation can be taken at face value, it suggests that efforts are being made to close the gap still existing behind KDP.
