Hummingbird Digital Media, which offers a free turnkey program that allows booksellers and others to sell e-books and audiobooks, has been bought by 360 Media Direct, the marketing and fulfillment agency with roots in the magazine publishing world. 360 Media Direct was founded more than 30 years ago and has expanded to include a range of digital services, including lead generation tools, customer loyalty platforms and targeted advertising media programs.
Founded in 2014 by Stephen Blake Mettee and Josh Mettee, Hummingbird partners with the American Booksellers Association for e-book sales on IndieCommerce and IndieLite sites. With the sale, Stephen Blake Mettee is retiring, and Josh Mettee is joining 360 Media Direct as executive v-p of Hummingbird Digital Media.
Josh Mettee commented: "I look forward to continuing to grow the relationships and businesses we've built with our indie partners, and over the next year, aided by the talent of our top-notch tech, marketing, and graphic design teams, we plan to enhance the design and user experience of the My Must Reads app and merchant storefronts. Our team will also be focused on connecting even more engaged readers with indies. Our goal is to be a better partner for our merchants and publishers, and to improve our overall footprint in the e-book and audiobook marketplace."
The Hummingbird platform allows bookstores, publishers, media, nonprofits, bloggers and others to compete with Amazon, Apple and Barnes & Noble in the digital arena, the company said. Each merchant gets its own branded and customizable storefront for customers to use for the discovery, purchasing and downloading of e-books and audiobooks. They also get a branded app for reading and listening.