Millie's Library Joins KT Family, Launches Large-Scale Subscriber Acquisition Drive

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghyun Choi] Millie's Library, a reading platform that has become part of KT, is taking steps to secure growth momentum.

According to the industry on the 13th, on the 10th, the largest shareholder of Millie's Library changed to Genie Music, a media affiliate of the KT Group. Genie Music acquired 38.6% of Millie's Library shares by purchasing existing shares and participating in a new paid-in capital increase. As Millie's Library is aiming for an initial public offering (IPO) next year, the plan is to focus on securing a large number of subscribers while forming a media value chain utilizing book IP together with KT.

Millie's Library launched Korea's first monthly subscription service for e-books in October 2017. It has introduced not only e-books but also audiobooks, chatbooks (chat-based reading content), and original content called 'Millie Original.' As of this month, the cumulative number of subscribers is 3.8 million, and the number of contents is 100,000 volumes.

The combination of Millie's Library and KT is expected to bring subscriber acquisition and lock-in effects. Millie's Library can collaborate across KT group companies and affiliates, and it is expected to create a virtuous cycle with KT's B2B platform. Synergies with telecommunication services such as combined plans and content partnerships will also be pursued in various ways.

Collaboration with publishers is also underway. So far, Millie's Library has signed supply contracts with more than 1,300 publishers. The IP supplied by these publishers will be expanded comprehensively to audiovisual content such as audiobooks, audio, and dramas.

Seo Young-taek, CEO of Millie's Library, said, "Since early this year, Millie's Library and KT have been considering ways to maximize each other's potential growth engines and bring positive changes to the overall content market for nearly eight months. Going forward, the growth of Millie's Library as a reading platform will accelerate even more."