RBMedia is an

audiobook An audiobook (or a talking book) is a recording of a book or other work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described as "unabridged", while readings of shorter versions are abridgements. Spoken audio has been available in sc ...

publishing company with sales globally. It claims to be the largest audiobook publisher in the world. It was founded in 2017 through the acquisitions of independent audiobook companies. The companies, which now operate as imprints of RBMedia, include:

Recorded Books Recorded Books is an audiobook imprint of RBMedia, a publishing company with operations in countries globally. Recorded Books was formerly an independent audiobook company before being purchased and re-organized under RBMedia, where it is now an ...

Tantor Media RBMedia is an audiobook publishing company with sales globally. It claims to be the largest audiobook publisher in the world. It was founded in 2017 through the acquisitions of independent audiobook companies. The companies, which now operate as ...

, HighBridge Audio, ChristianAudio, Gildan Media, W.F. Howes, Wavesound, GraphicAudio. It was assembled during the ownership by Shamrock Advisors (2015-2018), a

private equity firm A private equity firm is an investment management company that provides financial backing and makes investments in the private equity of startup or operating companies through a variety of loosely affiliated investment strategies including leve ...

, and was created by the former publisher

. The current owner is

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts KKR & Co. Inc., also known as Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., is an American global investment company that manages multiple alternative asset classes, including private equity, energy, infrastructure, real estate, credit, and, through its strate ...

(2018). The company is headquartered in Landover, Maryland near the original Recorded Books operations. It has studios in New York and elsewhere.

History

Recorded Books

(later to be the "RB" in RBMedia) was founded in Maryland in 1978 and was a pioneer in the industry.

Haights Cross Communications

Recorded Books was acquired by Haights Cross Communications in December 1999, where Recorded Books operated as a division of that company. In May 2014, Recorded Books acquired HighBridge Audio from

Workman Publishing Workman Publishing Company, Inc., is an American publisher of trade books founded by Peter Workman. The company is comprised of either imprints: Workman, Workman Children’s, Workman Calendars, Artisan, Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill and Algonq ...

. In January 2015, Recorded Books announced its acquisition of

Shamrock Advisors

Later in 2015, Recorded Books was sold to Shamrock Advisors, a private equity firm. In April 2017 the company reorganized. The new company name was RBMedia and its imprints included Recorded Books, HighBridge Audio, Tantor Media, ChristianAudio, Gildan Media, W.F. Howes (UK), and Wavesound (Australia). It would sell or distribute titles directly to customers through Audiobooks.com, libraries, and resellers such as

Audible Audible may refer to: * Audible (service), an online audiobook store * Audible (American football), a tactic used by quarterbacks * ''Audible'' (film), a short documentary film featuring a deaf high school football player * Audible finish or rush ...

. In September 2017, it was announced Gildan Media was acquired by RBMedia. Gildan publishes business books. In April 2017 RBMedia purchased Audiobooks.com and in October 2017 Audiobooks.com launched in the UK.

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts

In July 2018, Shamrock Advisors – who owned the company from August 2015 to July 2018 – sold it to new owners, the private equity firm

(KKR). In March 2020, RBMedia acquired GraphicAudio, a producer of immersive full-cast and sound-effect productions with brands such as

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

Dynamite Entertainment Dynamite Entertainment is an American comic book publisher founded by Nick Barrucci in 2004 at Mount Laurel, New Jersey. It is best known as the owners of '' The Boys'' franchise across several IP medias. Dynamite primarily publishes adaptation ...

Vault Comics Vault may refer to: * Jumping, the act of propelling oneself upwards Architecture * Vault (architecture), an arched form above an enclosed space * Bank vault, a reinforced room or compartment where valuables are stored * Burial vault (enclosur ...

and authors such as

Brandon Sanderson Brandon Winn Sanderson (born December 19, 1975) is an American author of high fantasy and science fiction. He is best known for the Cosmere fictional universe, in which most of his fantasy novels, most notably the ''Mistborn'' series and ''The ...

, Peter V. Brett, Michael J. Sullivan,

R. A. Salvatore Robert Anthony Salvatore (born January 20, 1959) is an American author best known for ''The Legend of Drizzt'', a series of fantasy novels set in the Forgotten Realms and starring the popular character Drizzt Do'Urden. He has also written ''The ...

William W. Johnstone William Wallace Johnstone (October 28, 1938 – February 8, 2004) was an American author most known for his western, horror and survivalist novels. Life and career Early life Born and raised in southern Missouri, Johnstone was the youngest ...

, and

Brent Weeks Brent Weeks (born March 7, 1977) is an American fantasy writer. His debut novel, ''The Way of Shadows'', was a ''New York Times'' best seller in April 2009. Each of the five books in his Lightbringer Series made the NYT list as well, starting w ...

. In June 2020, RBMedia sold its library assets to

OverDrive, Inc. OverDrive, Inc. is a digital distributor of eBooks, audiobooks, online magazines and streaming video titles. The company provides digital rights management and download fulfillment services for publishers, libraries, schools, corporations and b ...

; this includes RBDigital, an app and service for the distribution of digital content. RBMedia and OverDrive are both owned by KKR, with KKR's OverDrive purchase concluded in June 2020. The sale of RBMedia's library division to OverDrive represents a merger of KKR's related assets. In March 2021, RBMedia acquired Booka, a

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

-based audiobook publishing company rebranded as BookaVivo. In May 2021, RBMedia acquired

McGraw-Hill Professional McGraw Hill is an American educational publishing company and one of the "big three" educational publishers that publishes educational content, software, and services for pre-K through postgraduate education. The company also publishes referenc ...

's audiobook business including the entire catalog of previously published titles and exclusive rights to all future titles. In August 2021, RBMedia launched Ascent Audio for business focused books. The catalog includes audiobooks from the previous acquisition of Gildan Media and McGraw-Hill Professional. It claimed to be the world's largest catalog of business audiobooks. In November 2021, RBMedia announced that its property

Audiobooks.com Storytel AB is a Stockholm-based e-book and audiobook subscription service. It compares with Audible using a monthly credit model, and is available in more than 25 countries. Its English audiobook service Audiobooks.com is available in more tha ...

, purchased in 2017, was being sold to

Storytel Storytel AB is a Stockholm-based e-book and audiobook subscription service. It compares with Audible using a monthly credit model, and is available in more than 25 countries. Its English audiobook service Audiobooks.com is available in more th ...

for $135 million. In December 2021, RBMedia acquired the audiobook self-publisher Author’s Republic, including its traditional audiobook subsidiary Novel Audio. RBMedia purchased German audiobook publisher ABOD in January 2022, with works to be published under the RBmedia Verlag brand.

References

{{Authority control Audiobook companies and organizations Companies based in Maryland Calvert County, Maryland Mass media companies established in 2017 2017 establishments in Maryland Kohlberg Kravis Roberts companies 2018 mergers and acquisitions