Macmillan uses Bango billing for mobile book distribution

February 4, 2008

Macmillan wants to be the Amazon of mobile content

Mobile Web technology company Bango is turning the mobile phone into a portable library with Macmillan Publishing Solutions.

Bango’s billing and digital fingerprint technology helped Macmillan Publishing Solutions create the Global Reader, a service that lets users read books, articles, newspapers and other print content on their mobile phone.

“In the long run we want to be the Amazon of mobile content,” said Bob Kasher, director of sales at Macmillan Publishing Solutions, Toronto, Ontario.

“In the short run, we are targeting smartphone users the world over with a series of different approaches including original short stories, financial updates, newspaper articles, computer and technical books and manuals, comic books, children’s books, travel guides and cook books,” he said.

The Macmillan Publishing Solutions service is designed to offer publishers a new distribution channel with a direct link to consumers.

Users can access the Global Reader by text messaging GLOBAL READER or MPS MOBILE to 22646 or via a mobile Web browser at wap.global-reader.com, globalreader.wap.com or mpsmobile.wap.com.

“We expect to roll out a small version of our content in the beginning but by year’s end we hope to have a substantial amount of content – over 500,000 print books and articles, 500,000 tracks of music and 50,000 videos – available to consumers on their phones in a multiplicity of languages,” Mr. Kasher said.

The Global Reader service is mobile-Web-based so publishers can interact directly with consumers.

Using Bango technology publishers can receive detailed information about customers.

Bango partner Fli Digital, a full-service digital agency, worked with Macmillan Publishing Solutions to provide a payment solution for the Global Reader. Fli Digital enables a process to authenticate users so consumers can acquire a library of free and paid books.  

Also, the mobile site has a “bookmark” feature which lets readers save their spot online for each of their books.

“The challenges that Bango and Macmillan feel like they are addressing is the desire to be able to have one device to access content and making the mobile Internet more manageable,” Mr. Kasher said.