Open Publishing

What Open Publishing does

Open Publishing GmbH is a Munich-based, privately held software company founded in 1998 that builds a modular publishing platform serving book and journal publishers across the German-speaking market and beyond. Its core platform comprises Title Management, a Publisher Dashboard, and Digital Distribution, which together centralize metadata, asset delivery, and multi-channel routing to online bookshops, eBook platforms, audiobook providers, and Print-on-Demand partners (BoD, CPI, Amazon, Zeitfracht, LSI). Supporting modules cover royalty accounting, campus licence administration with Counter 5 reporting, an SEO-optimized Webshop with Social DRM, Open Access distribution to OAPEN, Deutsche Nationalbibliothek, and ProQuest, bundle creation, and accessibility-compliant ePub production. The platform integrates ONIX 3.0 and TDMRep standards via API and FTP for data and asset exchange.

The company monetizes through a mix of recurring platform subscriptions, transaction-based distribution fees, and professional services — notably content marketing, influencer marketing, paid-media management, and creative campaigns executed in an in-house photo/video studio and through the proprietary #bookfluencer portal (bilandia), which connects publishers to over 500 verified micro-influencers. Pricing is custom and quote-based, structured around multi-year enterprise contracts; a sub-brand called Open Publishing Rights operates a direct digital sales platform. Customer references include large German trade publishers (Ravensburger, dtv, C.H.Beck, Oetinger, pen2nature) and academic clients using campus licences.

The business is led by Managing Directors Tina Jürgens and Dr. Julius Mittenzwei, with a leadership team across account management, marketing services, and business relations; total headcount is reported in the 51–100 range. Open Publishing remains bootstrapped/founder-owned with one disclosed minority investment from Speedinvest (2012), and acquired Diplomica Verlag GmbH in 2012 to extend into academic thesis publishing. Recent product introductions — KI-Opt-Out (automated AI training opt-out via ONIX 3.0 and TDMRep) and Barrierefreiheit (accessibility ePub production) — position the company to capture compliance-driven demand from EU AI and accessibility regulation.

Name

Open Publishing

Legal name

Open Publishing GmbH

Website

http://openpublishing.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Open Publishing GmbH is a Munich-based software company, founded in 1998, that provides a modular SaaS platform enabling book and journal publishers to manage titles, distribute digitally and via print-on-demand, run marketing campaigns, and handle royalties and licensing.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Publishing Software

NAICS

Software Publishers (513210), Book Publishers (513130)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)

akta.pro primary industry

Self-Publishing & Author Platforms (BPAMAJAF)

akta.pro secondary industry

Open Educational Resources (OER) & Open Access Academic Publishing (MPAJABAG)

Keywords

• Publishing software platforms
• Digital book distribution
• Ebook distribution services
• Publisher marketing services
• Author royalty management

Headquarters

HQ city

München

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Software/SaaS Services: Subscription-based software platform providing publishers with tools for title management, digital distribution, reporting, campus licences, webshop, and author royalty management. Revenue from recurring platform fees based on usage and publisher size.
2. Digital Distribution Services: Fees for distributing publisher content to online bookshops, eBook platforms, audiobook providers, and Print-on-Demand services. Revenue based on transaction volume and channels selected.
3. Online Marketing Services: Campaign planning, advertising (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Amazon, Spotify, Pinterest, Google), influencer marketing, content marketing, workshops, and creative campaigns for publishers.
4. Reporting and Analytics: Detailed reporting dashboard providing trend data, sales data, individual analyses with export functionality for comprehensive business insights.
5. Royalty and Licence Billing: Fee management and automated author billing with support for tiered royalties, individual payouts, percentage-based compensation, advance accounting, VAT management, and optional withholding tax management.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Open Publishing operates a modular, proprietary software platform that enables book and journal publishers to manage titles, distribute digital and print content globally, run online marketing campaigns, manage author royalties, license digital content to universities and libraries, and sell directly via webshops. The offering combines SaaS modules (Title Management, Publisher Dashboard, Author Statement, Webshop, Campus Licences, Reporting) with professional marketing services (Content, Influencer, Creative Campaigns, Paid Media) and Print-on-Demand fulfilment.

Product overview

Open Publishing is a modular publishing platform providing digital solutions for publishers across the entire publishing value chain. The core platform consists of Title Management, Publisher Dashboard, and Digital Distribution, which form the foundational infrastructure for content management and multi-channel distribution. Supporting modules include revenue management (Author Statement), marketing services (Content Marketing, Influencer Marketing, Creative Campaigns, Advertising/Paid Media, In-Book Marketing), sales channels (Webshop), academic licensing (Campus Licences), analytics (Detailed Reporting), product bundling (Bundle Creator), print services (Print-On-Demand), and specialized services (Workshops, Mailing Tool, Open Access, Accessibility, KI-Opt-Out). The platform supports various digital formats including ePub, Fixed Layout, PDF, MP3, and WAV, and offers API, FTP, and web-UI access for data integration.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• bilandia: A subdomain and trading name of Open Publishing, used for bookfluencer marketing services (bookfluencer.bilandia.de).
• Open Publishing Rights

Products and services

• Digital Distribution Worldwide digital distribution service enabling publishers to distribute titles to online bookshops, eBook platforms, Print-on-Demand services, and audiobook providers through the Open Publishing platform, with support for ePub, Fixed Layout, PDF, MP3, and WAV formats.
• Title Management Centralised title project management tool that lets publishers create, view, edit, publish, and deactivate title projects with metrics and asset tracking.
• Publisher Dashboard Central dashboard for publishers to control distribution of assets and metadata, change pricing campaigns, select/deselect channels, trigger take-down notifications, and receive detailed delivery and error reports.
• Detailed Reporting Analytics and reporting dashboard providing trend data, sales data, individual analyses, and charts with export functionality to monitor publishing programme performance.
• Author Statement (Honorarmanagement) Fee management and automated author billing supporting tiered royalties, individual distributions, percentage-based compensation, advance accounting, and automated VAT handling.
• Webshop SEO-optimised e-commerce shop in publisher corporate design supporting eBooks, magazines, print editions, and non-books, with Social DRM protection, multiple payment methods (PayPal, credit card, Sofort), and distributor integration.
• Campus Licences Digital content licensing for universities and libraries with IP-based access, flexible download limits, Evidence Based Subscription, Pick and Choose models, and COUNTER 5 reporting.
• Content Marketing Content creation and production service including high-quality content production in an owned photo/video studio, community management, and social media channel management for publishers.
• Influencer Marketing Campaign development service including influencer research, communication, and campaign management through the #bookfluencer portal with access to over 500 verified micro-influencers (1k-15k reach).
• Creative Campaigns Creative campaign conception, planning, and implementation service producing graphics, photos, trailers, and high-quality content for multiple platforms and formats.
• Advertising / Paid Media Ad targeting and campaign management across Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Amazon, Spotify, Pinterest, Google Display Network, and Google AdWords with detailed campaign reporting.
• Bundle Creator Software tool for bundling individual titles thematically or by target group into attractive bundles with automatic proposal lists, metadata editing, and cover design capabilities.
• In-Book Marketing Marketing service enabling publishers to promote titles, events, raffles, and social media activities directly within digital books to strengthen customer loyalty and drive upselling.
• Print-On-Demand Print-on-demand distribution service supporting over 120,000 books, scientific journals, catalogues, and manuals through partners BoD, CPI, Amazon, Zeitfracht, and LSI, with digitisation and format conversion.
• Workshops Expert workshops and training programmes covering social media marketing, advertising, content creation, and TikTok/BookTok strategies for publishing industry professionals, delivered in-house or via Mediacampus and Akademie der Deutschen Medien.
• Mailing Tool Automated digital mailing solution for sending review copies, proofs, advance reader copies, and reading copies to booksellers, press, journalists, and bookfluencers, with customisable templates and click-rate analytics.
• Open Access Worldwide dissemination service for Open Access publications including indexing in subject portals, CC license integration, DOI assignment, faceted search, and COUNTER 5 reporting.
• Barrierefreiheit (Accessibility) Accessible ePub production service ensuring digital content meets accessibility standards for readers with visual impairments and other disabilities, with optimised metadata for discoverability.
• KI-Opt-Out Automated AI opt-out solution integrating ePubUsageConstraint in ONIX 3.0 and TDMRep protocol into ePub files to protect content from unauthorised AI data mining while enabling paid licensing options.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 120,000 publications distributed via Print-on-Demand
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• BoD (Books on Demand)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrint-on-Demand cooperation partner. BoD provides printing and fulfillment services for publishers distributing publications through Open Publishing's platform.
• CPI (CP International)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrint-on-Demand cooperation partner providing printing services for distributed publications.
• AmazoncoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPrint-on-Demand and distribution partner for making publisher content available through Amazon's platform.
• ZeitfrachtcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPrint-on-Demand and distribution partner for publisher content fulfillment.
• LSI (Libri GmbH)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLogistics service partner for Print-on-Demand distribution and book delivery services.
• MediacampusminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerExternal training provider for workshops offered by Open Publishing to publishers on social media marketing and advertising topics.
• Akademie der Deutschen MedienminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerExternal training provider for workshops on publishing and media topics, offering workshops and seminars to industry professionals.
• #bookfluencer Portal (bookfluencer.bilandia.de)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorOwn platform portal for micro-influencer campaigns with over 500 verified bookfluencers (1k-15k reach) available for publisher marketing campaigns.
• OAPENcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorOpen Access distribution platform for academic publications, ensuring global dissemination of scholarly content.
• Deutsche NationalbibliothekcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorNational library for German publications, ensuring long-term archiving and accessibility of Open Access content.
• ProQuestcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAcademic research platform for Open Access publication distribution to scholarly communities.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Ingram Content Group: Ingram is the largest US-headquartered book distributor with publisher services spanning print, digital distribution, metadata, and analytics — a broad incumbent whose digital and analytics offerings compete with several of Open Publishing's modules at global scale.
• Bowker: Bowker provides ISBN assignment, metadata, and publisher identifier services globally — comparable to Open Publishing's metadata management, DOI/ORCID/ISNI integration, and ONIX 3.0 workflows as part of a broader publishing services portfolio.
• Bibliotheca Group: Bibliotheca is a global library technology provider with cloud-based and RFID solutions, overlapping with Open Publishing's campus licensing and library integration modules while serving a much broader library systems portfolio.

Regional players

• Tredition: Tredition is a Hamburg-based publishing and POD services provider for self-publishers and small publishers — a regional DACH peer with overlapping POD, distribution, and marketing services competing for the same German-speaking customers.

Direct peers

• Klopotek: Klopotek is a Berlin-based provider of publishing management software for trade, academic, and educational publishers, with overlapping modules in rights, royalties, title management, and digital production — the closest direct functional peer in DACH.
• BoD (Books on Demand): BoD is a German Print-on-Demand and self-publishing platform that is both an Open Publishing distribution partner and a competitor in POD aggregation and direct-to-publisher services for the German market.
• Firebrand Technologies: Firebrand Technologies is a US-based publishing services platform offering Title Management, Eloquence metadata, and NetGalley marketing — a strong functional overlap with Open Publishing's title management, metadata, and book marketing modules.
• NetGalley: NetGalley operates a digital galley and influencer marketing platform used by publishers for review copy distribution and reader outreach — directly comparable to Open Publishing's Mailing Tool and #bookfluencer influencer marketing offerings.

Emerging players

• Draft2Digital: Draft2Digital is an eBook and print distribution aggregator serving independent authors and small publishers, with comparable digital distribution workflows and now part of the Smashwords platform — competes in adjacent segments of Open Publishing's distribution business.
• PublishDrive: PublishDrive is an emerging book distribution and marketing platform that distributes eBooks and audiobooks to global retailers and provides analytics — directly comparable to Open Publishing's digital distribution and reporting modules but with a different GTM focused on independent authors and smaller publishers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/open_publishing
• Facebookfacebook.com/openpublishing

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors2 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A1 record

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Open Publishing