How RBmedia Came to Life
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It would be difficult to find a private equity company that has more faith in the audiobook market than Shamrock Capital Advisors. The firm was the underbidder when Wasserstein & Co. bought Recorded Books in January 2014, and when Wasserstein was looking to sell Recorded Books 18 months later, Shamrock stepped up and did the deal. Shamrock made its most recent move in the audiobook market in April when it simultaneously announced the acquisition of Audiobooks.com, the app-based audiobook streaming and download service, and the creation of RBmedia, the company that now holds Audiobooks.com as well as all of Recorded Books’ old divisions.
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The purchase of Audiobooks.com and the formation of RBmedia represent a progression of the original vision that Shamrock had for audio when it bought RB in August 2015, according to Shea. “We could see three major trends happening in the market driving the consumption of spoken audio as well as other forms of digital content,” he said. The first is the desire of busy consumers who don’t have time to sit and read books but want to be able to multitask—drive, commute, exercise—while listening to entertaining content. The second trend Shea cited is the evolution of mobile technology and proliferation of mobile devices, which enables people to listen to spoken-word content more easily than ever. The final trend is the recent strong growth of the digital audiobook market and the mass adoption of podcasts, which are, he said, “a gateway into the consumption of other audio forms.”
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Shea said more acquisitions could be forthcoming. “We see many opportunities to acquire companies that will provide us with new content sources as well as help us expand the capabilities and reach of our technology platform. Since we have the backing of a major private equity firm, we have the resources to make future acquisitions happen.”
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RBmedia
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RBmedia is a global leader in spoken audio content and digital media distribution technology that reaches millions of consumers — at home, in the car, and wherever their mobile devices take them. RBmedia produces exclusive titles and delivers the finest digital content and information — including audiobooks, educational courses, entertainment titles, and much more.
RBmedia is the largest audiobook publisher in the world
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Publishing Imprints: Recorded Books,
HighBridge Audio,
Tantor Media,
WF Howes,
Wavesound,
ChristianAudio
Technology Platforms: Audiobooks.com,
RBdigital (OneClickdigital, Zinio for Libraries)
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