Scribd makes dramatic cuts to romance list

Thursday, 2 July 2015 Books+Publishing

Scribd is dramatically reducing the number of romance and erotica titles offered through its subscription service in a move that is believed to prevent romance readers from cannibalising profits, reports Publishers Weekly. Scribd said in a letter to publishers that it needs to ‘adjust the proportion of titles across genres to ensure that we can continue to expand the overall size and variety of our service’. ‘We will be making some adjustments, particularly to romance, and as a result some previously available titles may no longer be available,’ said Scribd. In a blog post, Smashwords CEO Mark Coker estimates that 80-90% of his company’s romance titles are being dropped from the site. While Scribd did not provide a reason for the cuts, Coker believes high-volume romance readers are underminding the company’s profits. ‘Bottom line, romance readers are reading Scribd out of house and home. Scribd’s business model, as it’s set up now, simply can’t sustain the high readership of romance readers. They’re not facing the same problem with readers of other genres,’ writes Coker.

Category: International news