For two weeks in August, Publishing Mills AudioBooks was for sale on eBay with a starting bid of $850,000. Publisher Jessica Kaye told PW that the listing was "just an exploration, with low expectations and done mostly out of curiosity."
Publishing Mills has produced audiobooks from well-known personalities, including Ice-T and Jonathan Winters, and writers such as Ian McEwan and Daniel Boorstein. Recent titles are John Glatt's The Chieftains, narrated by singer/ songwriter Nanci Griffith, and Misadventures in the (213) by Dennis Hensley.
Assets were listed as "licenses and master recordings to approximately 200 titles; additional contracts for rights to approximately 20 unpublished titles; inventory of 30K—40K pieces; exclusive rights to the company name and logo; Web site customer list; receivables; established relationships in the publishing and record industries."
Kaye explained that the company was not really for sale, but that she was actually seeking an equity investor to come in at the executive level and assist with pursuing new business opportunities. She admitted that posting the company for sale on eBay was "not what most people would think of first for an executive search," but she said it was "a useful tool for meeting people" and attracted a dozen inquiries. Nonetheless, the company has no plans to relist.
