Changes in the distribution of Harry Potter e-books might spell trouble for Pottermore. When the social network for Potterheads first launched in 2012, it was the only place to get digital versions of J.K. Rowling's bestselling titles. For the last year or so, Harry Potter e-books have been increasingly available through other services, from Oyster to Kindle Unlimited. Now, however, Kindle and Nook versions will be available for $8.99 from, well, pretty much anywhere.
TechCrunch reports that Pottermore saw losses to the tune "of £6 million in 2015." With sales numbers dropping, the site let go of its exclusive hold on the Harry Potter e-books and made them available for download through Amazon's Kindle Store on December 8.
This is only the latest in a long string of strategy changes from Pottermore. Early October 2015 saw the enhanced iBook versions come to Apple devices, and November brought Harry Potter audiobooks to Audible. The Digital Reader reports that the audiobooks made their way to Barnes & Noble's website in mid-December 2015.
Now the Harry Potter e-books may be purchased from Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Kobo, and Blackwell UK. It's unclear whether digital copies of the series will be available outside the U.S. and the U.K., but allesebook.de appears to have had luck finding German-language versions in the Kobo store.
Of course, this all means things aren't going well for Pottermore. The site's exclusive hold on all things Potter was initially touted as a panacea against the advances of the Site Which Shall Not Be Named — Amazon. With the Harry Potter e-books now available on the Kindle Store, it's probably safe to say that the Ministry of Magic has fallen under Voldemort's control. To quote TechCrunch's John Biggs: "I doubt Pottermore is going to survive as the Site Who Lived."
Image: Warner Bros.; Giphy
