LAVERGNE, Tenn., and LEEDS, United Kingdom, Feb. 8 /PRNewswire/ --
Lightning Source Inc.(SM), a pioneer in innovative digital fulfillment, and
Didio Communications, Ltd., a world leader in digital audio services, have
entered into a strategic alliance to jointly market their services to the
publishing industry worldwide.
Didio and Lightning Source will collectively leverage their technological
expertise to galvanize the eAudiobook market and work together with publishers
to increase the volume of eAudiobook content available to consumers. Under
this new alliance, Lightning Source will expand its suite of services to
include digital audiobook fulfillment capability.
Didio will work with Lightning Source to gain access to and properly support worldwide channels of
distribution for eAudiobook content.
"Our alliance with Didio provides a strategic pairing of two key digital
fulfillment technologies," said Ed Marino, president and CEO of Lightning
Source. "In co-marketing our services, we'll be able to offer publishers and
booksellers one source for secure fulfillment of eBooks and eAudiobooks, as
well as possible future combinations of the two formats."
"Lightning's alliance with Didio confirms the growing interest in
eAudiobooks," said Paul G. Smithson, Managing Director of Didio. "By
combining Didio's cutting-edge eAudiobook solutions with Lightning Source's
established track record with digital content, we're providing access to a
unique, combined content format offering that is sure to be of great appeal to
all online retailers and audiobook publishers, and ultimately to their
consumers."
As a pioneer in the new world of eAudiobooks, Didio has made substantial
investments in delivery and encryption technology, resulting in an eAudiobook
digital delivery service that combines superior sound quality with exceptional
security for audiobook content.
Today, Didio helps audiobook publishers and retailers in this growing market develop and implement digital audio download
strategies, and enables publishers to transfer encrypted digital downloads of
eAudiobooks to their customers.
Didio also helps publishers enlist retail affiliates who wish to access their secure eAudiobook content, and aids
retailers in developing their service to customers who wish to sample and buy
eAudiobooks.
Didio's services for audiobook publishers include design, hosting and
management of the eAudiobook digital distribution platform, acquisition of
third-party distribution channels, and safe, secure delivery of eAudiobooks
directly to customers, both online and offline. All of these services are
supplied by Didio as directed by their publisher and retailer clients.
Content owners retain full control of their content and brand identification
without having to assume the technical burden, time and heavy expense of
implementation. Didio also has future plans to offer audio-print-on-demand
(APOD) and fulfillment services to its publisher clients.
Lightning Source, a pioneer provider of print-on-demand (POD) and eBook
fulfillment services, electronically stores books and other content in its
digital library, which currently offers more than 20,000 titles. Lightning
Source has long-term relationships with more than 900 publishers, and has
received commitments to add more than 50,000 titles to its digital library.
"Our alliance with Didio is a perfect complement to Lightning's services,"
said Marino. "Digital fulfillment leverages the extreme flexibility and
portability of digital content, and accommodates essentially any form of
content that can be digitized, including the continuously growing medium of
audiobooks."
"The new alliance will enable all of our customers to reap the full
benefits of this expanding spectrum of digital services," added Didio's
Smithson.
About Lightning Source
Lightning Source Inc., a subsidiary of Ingram Industries Inc., provides a
comprehensive suite of digital fulfillment services. The company is
revolutionizing the options available to the industry in the secure
conversion, storage, management, and distribution of digital content.
Lightning stores books and other information electronically and delivers them
"on demand" in either traditional printed format or as eBooks in response to
orders from booksellers, librarians, and publishers. Lightning Source has
printed more than 1,500,000 "on demand" books for more than 900 publishers
around the world. For more information, visit our website at
http://www.lightningsource.com .
About Didio
Didio Communications Ltd. is a provider of digital content services to the
Publishing and Retailing industries. Didio is a part-owned subsidiary of
Chivers Communications Plc, itself a specialist in Publishing, having
Audiobook and Large Print interests through its wholly-owned subsidiary
Chivers Press Ltd. Chivers Communications Plc also has interests in Digital
Radio Channel, One Word Ltd., and audiobook mail-order business, Audio Book
Collection. Together, Didio Communications Ltd and Chivers Communications Plc
are building on relationships in the publishing industry in delivering digital
media services to content-owners. For more information, visit out website at
http://www.didio.com .
The Lightning Source and Didio name, corresponding logos, taglines and
other service marks identifying Lightning Source and Didio and their services
are the proprietary marks of Lightning Source Inc. and Didio Communications
Ltd. and must be represented accordingly. Other products and company names
mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
SOURCE Lightning Source Inc.
