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“Something happened yesterday,” says journalist and author Andreas Wirwalski, rather mysteriously. “What happened yesterday Jane?” To his left sits Jane Friedman, former CEO of HarperCollins Publishers Worldwide, and to his right is Jeffrey Sharp, an independent film producer (of Boys Don’t Cry and Revolutionary Road fame). What happened yesterday was the launch of Open Road Integrated Media, a new enterprise that Jane and Jeffrey will head.
Jane Friedman, Andreas Wirwalski, Jeffrey Sharp
Open Road Media is a content marketing company, financed by Kohlberg Ventures, that is making waves across the fair and appears all set to transform the e-publishing landscape and usher in the era of the integrated media company. “The e-book will be the centre of a multi-platform universe that will include film, video and other forms of digital entertainment,” says Jane.
The cornerstone of Open Road Media’s strategy will be what they call the ‘author branded backlist’. Jane expounds her mantra, “The absolute reality is that the author is the brand. We’re going back to the future, which I just love.” The plan is to market e-books through a proprietary online platform designed to reach consumers where they live, socialize and shop. Open Road Media’s e-books will be backed up by a world of premium audio and video content such as author profiles, behind-the-scenes features and mini-documentaries.
It isn’t just the conception behind the company or that the future of publishing has materialised in a big way that’s exciting. What’s equally impressive is the fact that Open Road Media’s launch titles will include the works of world famous authors like William Styron, Pat Conroy, Joseph Heller, and Dame Iris Murdoch. It won’t just be established writers who will join Open Media’s stable. New titles will be nurtured in their Studio division, as well as in Discovery, a premium self-publishing division. “We will also work with publishers, like Grove Atlantic, who own the rights to books by being their marketing arm,” says Jane.
“At Frankfurt this year it’s become obvious to me that publishers are understanding that digital is happening and that it’s happening fast,” says Jane. Jeffrey, who’s a first-timer at the fair, says that he’s always looked to the page for inspiration when producing films. “I always try to get authors to come to my sets. They’re a great resource and inspiration.” The genesis of his partnership with Jane, which seamlessly integrates the two industries they thrive in, lies in their collaboration on film adaptations when she was still at HarperCollins. “Both our industries, legacy publishing and independent film making, have been hit hard by the recession. So we were drawn to each other with the idea of taking things forward and starting something new,” explains Jeffrey. They both agree that the Berlinale Film Festival and the Frankfurt Book Fair have been crucial to the merging of their industries
Their vision is not to create a hybrid product, such as an interactive e-book, as much as it is a way to create a multimedia world around the e-book. True, Open Road Media will be better positioned to create film adaptations, as they’ll hold the rights to content for all media. But apart from these adaptations and mobile gaming, they’re an integrated media company in the sense that they’re marketing will encompass a variety of digital platforms. It’s a company that is “born digital” and will only print traditional books using print-on-demand technology. Jane says, “The idea that we send out a digital book and it isn’t coming back appeals to me. I’m done with looking at inventory.”
Tags: digital content, e-books, film, media, open road
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