More Losses for Mediabay

by Jim Milliot -- Publishers Weekly, 4/11/2005

MediaBay's attempt to move from being a traditional mail-order distributor of spoken-word audio to a digital distributor took its toll on the company's finances in 2004. Revenue at MediaBay plunged 49%, to $18.8 million, while the company's net loss soared to $30.1 million from $6.6 million.

The decline was attributed to MediaBay's decision to stop its marketing activities to attract new members to its traditional Audio Book Club, the company's largest division. Without new members, sales at ABC fell 53% last year, ato $12.3 million. MediaBay is developing marketing plans to convince ABC members to try its digital products when it begins offering them in June.