Bookmate.ru: “We Exist To Beat the Ebook Pirates”

In Discussion by Edward Nawotka

By Publishing Perspectives

exprima talks logoIn our latest Exprima Talks video for Publishing Perspectives, Corey Pressman and Edward Nawotka talk with James Appell, director of global partnerships for Bookmate.ru.

Bookmate.ru is a Moscow-based ebook subscription service that offers access to 250,000 Russian books from 375 Russian publishers for 150 rubles ($5) per month. The company is now looking to expand beyond Russia’s borders.

“We want to explain to publishers, ‘don’t treat us as you do every other subscription service,” says Appell. “Treat us as a revenue generation solution for places that may be marginal markets, may be difficult to break into for distribution reasons, markets dominated by piracy. We’re trying to be a halfway house.”

In addition, the company sees its raison d’etra as combating piracy. “It’s not a zero-sum game,” says Appell. “If you start claiming back some of the readers who are only accessing illegal work and not paying a penny for it, they become an active constituency. They will start spending money.”

Agree? Disagree? Let us know what you think in the comments.

Exprima Talks, led by Corey Pressman of Exprima Media and conducted for Publishing Perspectives, is a series of discussions with people thinking and tinkering in the space of reading.

About the Author

Edward Nawotka

A widely published critic and essayist, Edward Nawotka serves as a speaker, educator and consultant for institutions and businesses involved in the global publishing and content industries. He was also editor-in-chief of Publishing Perspectives since the launch of the publication in 2009 until January 2016.