Libro.fm announced at the end of last week that it will soon be offering e-books through its platform. This marks yet another significant step in the general trend toward making it easier for devoted readers who want to support local bookstores to do so in whatever format they read.
ALLi News Editor Dan Holloway
Libro.fm is currently an audio-only platform whose subscriptions support independent bookstores. It will initially introduce an e-book feature to those bookstores in a bid to refine its offering before a wider consumer rollout next year.
As part of this initial work with bookstore owners, Libro will make advance digital copies of e-books available. Customers will likely be able to use the credits their subscriptions provide to access either e-books or audiobooks.
The move will see Libro.fm adopt another practice that has become a trend of late. Readers will be able to switch between audio and e-book formats, should they wish, using a function called LibroSync. Because the full offering to consumers is not coming until 2027, it is not clear at this stage whether customers will be required to spend two credits to access this sync feature.
Spotify, you will remember, has been very keen to stress that its PageMatch feature requires readers to own the different formats they want to sync between.
Something I find particularly interesting about this move is where it leaves Libro.fm’s partnership with Bookshop.org. Bookshop uses Libro as its audiobook partner, automatically directing audiobook customers to Libro. The company recently rolled out its own e-book platform. There is no indication that Libro will send e-book customers through Bookshop—indeed, the lengthy trial with bookstore owners is a clear indicator that it is building from scratch.
It’s great to have two platforms where readers can access indie books and support independent stores, but it remains to be seen whether they continue to coexist happily.
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