By Minal Bopaiah
While there’s been a flurry of launches in the eBook subscription space (e.g., Scribd., Oyster, and others) few sites have sought meaningful ways to differentiate themselves from their competition. Until now.
Epic just launched with an eBook subscription service aimed at kids. For $9.99/month or $79.99 a year, a single user can get unlimited access to children’s titles, from Cloudy with a Change of Meatballs to Mr. Popper’s Penguins.
CEO Suren Markosian, a former gaming designer, told Publishers Weekly that he developed the idea after looking for books online for his own kids: “”There were plenty of games and videos online but it was tough to find good books.”
While most niche publishers don’t think of children as a lucrative market, Epic is wise to focus its subscription service on kids. For one, the service is a time- and money-saver for parents; instead of being asked to pony up cash for each individual book purchase, parents can encourage reading through a site that’s curating children-friendly content.
Two, Epic is meeting the next generation of consumers where they are. Instead of trying to transition elderly, print audiences, Epic is targeting a younger audience with a paid service that has little free competition (some local libraries offer lending eBook services).
Right now, Epic is only available on the iPad, which may be its biggest deterrent as research has found that Kindle owners read more books than iPad owners. But then again, that study was conducted on adults.
