The Digital Reader

Austin Business Journal is reporting that LibreDigital have bought hybrid digital content distributor Symtio from Zondervan, a HarperCollins sub. You might remember that I reported last week that NewsCorp bought this  company; I was wrong, NewsCorp  own HarperCollins, so they were the corporate parent. (I corrected my post a few hours after writing it.)

FYI: LibreDigital is based in Austin, TX, and the Austin Business Journal is basically their local paper.

PaidContent has some extra information on this transaction. They’re reporting that LibreDigital is buying the Symtio platform, but not the hardware. They don’t want the cards, and that makes perfect sense.

The whole point of this system is to let people buy digital content in brick and mortar stores. I’m sure you know that the 2 key benefits of digital content are infinite supply (you never run out of electrons) and infinite distribution (you can download the content anywhere). The cards have to be printed and distributed, and that costs you both of the benefits of digital content.

I bet they’re going to replace the existing cards with something like a generic gift card, or they’re going to print the same information on the receipt. I like the receipt idea more, actually.

Update: I found the press release. It confirms that LibreDigital aren’t going to buy the cards business.