BookBeat launches in France and changes its offer in the United Kingdom

BookBeat has now launched in France, making it the 13^th core market for the platform. BookBeat has already signed a strategic partnership with Hachette Livre, the number one publishing group in France. At the same time, BookBeat will launch a new offer in the UK, offering three packages from 20 to 100 hours of listening every month, starting at £5,99.

After Spain and Italy in October, BookBeat is now launching its service in France and also adapting its offer on the UK market. BookBeat will be able to offer new best-sellers after signing contacts with new well-known publishers, including Hachette Livre in France, with whom they want to build a long-term relationship.

- We are happy to finally take our first steps in France, and simultaneously update our offer in the UK. Both markets have shown great potential over the last few years. Our goal is to work closely with the publishers in order to offer the most premium content and a sustainable frame for the growth of the markets. We are curious to learn more about those markets and I am certain that BookBeat will contribute to the development of those markets for the years to come, says Niclas Sandin, CEO at BookBeat.

BookBeat will offer more than 700.000 titles on both markets.

BookBeat moves away from the unlimited model

After moving away from the unlimited offer on its biggest markets, BookBeat will also change the offer in the UK and on the markets where a local app is unavailable. Unlimited listening will not be available anymore. This model will allow sustainable growth and will bring more transparency for the publishers and rights holders.

- Since we launched BookBeat, we have gathered over 500 million hours of listening data. Based on that data, we know that the biggest long-term challenge to making the streaming business model work is the heavy users. Only 5 percent of the users listen more than 100 hours per month, but they contribute to 25 percent of the listened hours. To make the model work in the long term, either the price a service pay publishers must go down or the price for users goes up. We have created our own solution to this challenge that takes away the stress that heavy users put on the model, while allowing us to create better offers for light users. In short, it is a dynamic model, based on how much you listen you will pay more. We have already launched the model in Sweden, Finland and Germany and know it is attractive for users but also helps us keep the price we pay publishers at a sustainable level, concludes Niclas Sandin.

The new offer on the UK market will allow you to listen 20, 50 or up to 100 hours from £5,99. The users reaching 100h of listening will still be able to purchase additional hours to continue their listening.