Shelfie, a digital bundling venture that gives readers access to discounted e-book editions of print titles they already own, is adding audiobooks. The company is working with audiobook distributor Findaway to add thousands of titles from a range of publishers.
Formerly known as BitLit, Shelfie is also adding a recommendation engine to its app that it says will improve its recommendation system.
Shelfie, which currently offers about 250,000 e-books titles, is adding the entire HarperAudio audiobook catalog (which includes over 4,500 audiobooks) to its library. The app will now gives readers access to audiobook titles from such publishers as Blackstone Audio, Gildan Media, Hachette Audio, and Naxos Audiobooks; and audiobooks by such bestselling authors as Chris Kyle, Michael Connelly, James Patterson and Haruki Murakami.
Shelfie offers a free app that allows customer to photograph their bookshelves and the image is in to receive a list of either discounted or free e-books available. The image sent, which company the company calls a "shelfie," will generate title availability based on partnership deals with the publishers of the titles photographed. (To ensure the consumer is sending in a photo of a book they own, the exchange is dependent on the consumer including a photo of the copyright page of the print book, with their signature on it.)
About 1,200 publishers have signed deals with Shelfie, including two of the Big Five in HarperCollins and Macmillan.
HarperCollins chief digital officer and executive v-p, international Chantal Restivo-Alessi said the company's audiobook agreement with Shelfie is part of HarperCollin’s overall strategy “to put content in front of as many people as we can.”
She continued: "We’re big supporters of audiobooks. We see sales growth in audiobooks in combination with other formats like print. People spend a lot of time in cars, why not give them the option of another format?” She also said that HarperCollins is monitoring the new Shelfie recommendation engine. “More data is always attractive,” she said.
Shelfie CEO, Peter Hudson said, the addition of audiobooks speaks to the company's goal of "freeing content from form" and "allowing readers to access the stories they’ve bought whenever and however they choose.”
Launched two years ago about two dozen publishers, Shelfie, Hudson explained, went live when it "just didn’t have enough content.” Now, however, Hudson estimated that Shelife can generally identify 10% to 20% of the titles on a consumer’s book shelf.
