May 23 2007
Amazon to Acquire Brilliance Audio
ShelfAwareness reported this morning that Amazon is on the verge of acquiring Brilliance Audio, U.S’s largest independent audiobook publisher. It puts out 12-15 audiobooks each month and is located in Grand Haven, Mich.
Amazon is no stranger to acquisitions. Two years ago it purchased Mobipocket which has the largest library of ebooks; last month it announced the purchase of dpreview.com. I guess it’s all about vertical alignment these days.
Via ShelfAwareness
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May 23, 2007 @ 15:35:24
Right now, Amazon downloadable audio book purchases link to Audible.com (often at a higher price than a direct purchase from Audible). Brilliance links to AudioBookStandDL.com (which is outrageously expensive).
So, will Audible, with it’s more reasonable prices (but smaller selection) be squeezed out of business? I hope not. I would hate to see Amazon (through Brilliance) have the downloadable audio market completely to themselves. Or maybe I’m making a wrong assumption that AudioBookStand is under Brilliance audio’s corporate umbrella?