Libro.fm is coming to New Zealand!
I’m the CEO of a software company that specialises in digital communication for large corporate companies, which may seem at odds with the notion of owning a provincial bookshop, but colour and variety are what makes us human!
So today’s announcement that audiobook platform Libro.fm will enter the New Zealand market in July appeals to both sides of my commercial life.
I love to listen to audiobooks while I’m walking, driving or gardening, and through Libro.fm I’ll now be able to support my favourite local bookstore 🤭 every time I buy one.
I know a lot of our customers wrestle with wanting to support their local bookshop but also loving the convenience of audiobooks - and now you don’t have to!
Closer to the offical launch in July - and once we’re up to speed on the new platform ourselves - we’ll announce in-store lessons and drop-in times where you can get one-to-one help. We’ll announce these on our newsletter and through Instagram so signup/follow us if you’re not already part of the Village Bookshop digital universe.
Until then here’s a few more details about Libro.fm:
Who is Libro.fm?
It all started in 2013 when Libro.fm CEO Mark Pearson noticed that independent booksellers in the US were struggling to compete with Amazon in the audiobook market (Amazon are also the owner of Audible). He founded Libro.fm so that independent bookstores could sell audiobooks in addition to their traditional paper books.
Libro.fm, like their #1 competitor is based in Seattle, Washington.
What’s so special about Libro.fm?
Libro.fm is a Social Purpose Corporation which, in this context, means that when you buy a book through Libro.fm they’ll split some of the profit with the local bookstore that you nominate. If annual reports are your thing, you can read all about their social impact over the past three years.
How does this all work?
Once all the landing pages and links are available for New Zealand we’ll come back and update these instructions but for now, here’s how it works in North America and I expect it will be much the same for us:
1. Create a free Libro.fm account.
2. Choose the bookstore you want to support. Bless you if you choose Mrs Blackwell’s Village Bookshop.
3. Sign up for a monthly membership or buy audiobooks one at a time (they call this à la carte). There will likely be sign-up incentives and free books when things launch in July so keep an eye out for those.
4. Listen anytime, anywhere. Listen with the free Libro.fm app, available for both iPhones and Android phones. Libro.fm is is DRM-free (Digital Rights Management), so if you’ve ever wished you could listen to your audiobooks outside of another provider’s mandated app, that’s going to be possible with Libro.fm.
