B&N Adds Audio Store
Barnes & Noble has launched its Audiobook MP3 Store on its barnesandnoble.com Web site. The store will feature spoken-word audiobook MP3s available for download to iPods, iPhones, MP3 players and other portable devices. The site is launching with more than 10,000 titles across all genres, priced between $10 and $20 per download. The store is being managed by OverDrive.
Amazon Buys Lexcycle
Amazon has acquired Lexcycle, the company that produces Stanza, the e-book reading app for the iPhone. Unlike the Kindle’s proprietary e-book format, Lexcycle’s Stanza app supports the e-pub format developed by the International Digital Publishing Forum. Although Amazon’s Kindle has been a hit, iPhone e-book sales are rising fast and Amazon recently released the Kindle-on-iPhone app, an application that allows Kindle owners to read their e-books with an iPhone.
Sales Down, Loss Cut at MHE
Revenue at Mc-Graw-Hill Education fell 5.3% in the first quarter ended March 31, to $312.6 million, but the company was able to cut its quarterly operating loss from $90.9 million to $76.6 million. The strong dollar reduced revenue at MHE, particularly in its higher education/professional/international group, where revenue declined 0.7%, to $190 million. Revenue in the school group fell 11.6%, to $122.6 million.
For the remainder of the year, MHE said it expects total sales to decline 4%—5%, compared to an earlier prediction of a 1%—2% drop.
CBE Cancels Consumer Show
ECPA will not hold a second Christian Book Expo in 2010. The first CBE drew only 1,500 people this March in Dallas, far below the 10,000—15,000 ECPA had expected. The weak attendance left the organization with a $250,000 shortfall.
Cuts at Aperture
The Aperture Foundation, the New York City—based nonprofit photography publisher and resource center cut its workforce by 20%, eliminating seven jobs from the Foundation’s 47 positions. Aperture has also instituted “temporary salary reductions” for selected staffers. While the foundation will not eliminate any core programs, it will reduce the number of books it publishes each year; all exhibitions and public programs for 2009 will be presented as planned.
Quarto Slips in Quarter
U.K.—based Quarto Group had a dip in sales and earnings in the first quarter ended March 31, with revenue down 5%, to £19.8 million, and operating income falling to £252,000, from £268,000. U.K. publishing sales were up slightly, international co-edition sales were down, while business in the U.S. was negatively impacted by consolidating its warehouse and back-office operations.
Morris, Endeavor Merge
William Morris Agency and Endeavor announced last week they will merge following Justice Department approval. Once the deal is completed, Jennifer Rudolph Walsh and Suzanne Gluck—-currently co-heads of WM's literary division—will remain at the helm of the merged company’s lit operations.
Correction:
In the April 20 International Bestsellers column it was incorrectly reported that a new book by actor Hugh Laurie was set to be published in the U.K. this fall. No new book is planned.
