What Media Do does

Media Do Co., Ltd. (株式会社メディアドゥ, tyo:3678) is Japan's largest ebook distribution intermediary, founded in 1999 and headquartered in Tokyo's Chiyoda-ku (Palaceside Building). The company operates proprietary infrastructure — the Contents Agency System (CAS) and md-dc delivery platform — that aggregates content from 2,200+ publishers and distributes it to 150+ ebookstores, processing approximately ¥193 billion in annual ebook content value and capturing roughly 30% domestic market share. Major Japanese publishers including Kodansha, Shogakukan, Shueisha, and Kadokawa all distribute through Media Do, with Kodansha, Shogakukan, and Shueisha holding capital participation stakes; Tohan (physical distribution) became the largest shareholder in 2021. Revenue is generated primarily through transaction fees on ebook distribution, with consolidated revenue of ¥108,537 million in FY2026 (Feb 2026).

The company has built a vertically integrated publishing ecosystem through subsidiaries and acquisitions: Japan Bungakusha (publisher), Flier (book summary service), FanTop (NFT marketplace), NetGalley (US #1 publisher-bookstore promotional tool), Firebrand (US publishing ERP), Supadü (UK publisher e-commerce), Seven Seas Entertainment (North America's largest independent manga/LN publisher, acquired March 2026), and Media Do International (San Diego-based overseas hub). It also operates the Accessible Library digital service for visually impaired users (deployed in 100+ Japanese municipalities), runs the OverDrive Japan library platform as an Amazon Audible audiobook intermediary, and has formally established the SC (Sustainability Creation) regional revitalization segment including the xIB JAPAN entrepreneur network (20 prefectures, 1,600+ members) and the Tokushima Ganbarouzu professional basketball club. The company's go-to-market combines direct enterprise sales to publishers and ebookstores, capital alliances with strategic partners, and international expansion through acquired overseas subsidiaries. AI capability is currently limited to AI-assisted translation workflows for overseas content distribution, with no proprietary models or AI-native products disclosed.

Name

Media Do

Legal name

株式会社メディアドゥ

Website

https://mediado.jp

Company type

Public

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Media Do is Japan's largest ebook distribution intermediary, using proprietary CAS and md-dc platforms to connect 2,200+ publishers with 150+ ebookstores, processing approximately ¥193 billion in annual content and holding ~30% domestic market share. The company operates a vertically integrated publishing ecosystem across Japan, the US, and the UK through subsidiaries including Seven Seas Entertainment and NetGalley.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Digital Publishing Distribution

NAICS

Book Publishers (513130), Media Streaming Distribution Services, Social Networks, and Other Media Networks and Content Providers (516210), Publishing Industries (513), Periodical Publishers (513120)

SIC

Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731), Miscellaneous Publishing (2741), Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro primary industry

eBook & Digital Reading Platforms (BPAMAJAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Manga Publishing (Japanese & Global) (MPAJAGAA), E-book Subscription & Bundling Services (MPAJAMAB), Library & Institutional Distribution (Public/Academic Libraries, Consortia) (MPAJAKAF)

Keywords

• Ebook distribution services
• Digital publishing platform
• Content distribution intermediary
• Ebook royalty management
• Publishing workflow software

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Ebook Distribution Services: Distribution fees from facilitating ebook transactions between publishers (2,200+) and ebookstores (150+). The company acts as intermediary, providing content aggregation, metadata management, delivery to bookstores, campaign management, and sales royalty distribution. Approximately 30% of Japan's ebook distribution flows through Media Do.
2. Publishing/IP Solutions: Revenue from subsidiary publishers (Japan Bungakusha), book summary service (Flyer), audiobooks, and content multi-use exploitation including NFT digital merchandise (FanTop)
3. International Publishing Services: SaaS services for overseas publishers (Firebrand ERP, Supadü e-commerce), translation/publication of Japanese manga and light novels internationally via Seven Seas Entertainment, digital and print distribution overseas
4. SC (Sustainability Creation) Services: Regional revitalization projects including sports (Tokushima Ganbarouzu basketball club), entrepreneur support networks (TIB/xIB JAPAN), local events; primarily cost center but supports broader business development

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels11 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Media Do is Japan's largest ebook distribution intermediary, operating proprietary platforms (CAS and md-dc) that aggregate content from 2,200+ publishers and deliver it to 150+ ebookstores, handling contracts, metadata, campaign management, and royalty distribution. The platform processes approximately 30% of Japan's ebook distribution (around ¥193 billion in annual ebook sales), and is complemented by international subsidiaries (Seven Seas Entertainment, Media Do International, Firebrand, NetGalley, Supadü), an audiobook intermediary for Audible, a book summary service (Flier), an NFT marketplace (FanTop), and an Accessible Library for visually impaired users.

Product overview

Media Do operates a multi-segment business portfolio centered on its domestic ebook distribution business — the leading intermediary connecting 2,200+ publishers with 150+ ebookstores, processing ~¥193B in annual ebook sales (~30% market share). The company is organized into four business segments: (1) eBook Distribution Business as the core platform, (2) Global Business (including Seven Seas Entertainment, Media Do International, Firebrand/NetGalley, Supadü, and the Audible audiobook intermediary), (3) IP & Solutions (comprising Japan Bungeisha publisher, Flier book summary service, NFT marketplace FanTop, audiobooks, OverDrive Japan, and Accessible Library), and (4) SC (Sustainability Creation) encompassing regional revitalization projects including Tokushima Innovation Base, xIB JAPAN, the professional basketball club Tokushima Gamba Rows, and the TG7 fan engagement app. The company also provides an audiobook business as an intermediary between Amazon Audible and publishers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• FanTop: NFT marketplace service operated by Media Do for collecting and trading NFT digital goods; focuses on content-related digital merchandise with copyright holder revenue distribution.
• アクセシブルライブラリー (Accessible Library)
• OverDrive Japan
• TG7
• うずしおサミット (Uzu-shio Summit)
• aX
• ゴラクうぇぶ！ (Goraku web!)

Products and services

• Ebook Distribution Business (電子書籍流通事業)

Quantifiable outcome

• Handles approximately 30% of Japan's ebook distribution market
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

AI capability2 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Fukuoka Stock ExchangeminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 June 2026Strategic partnership agreement signed June 2026 for regional corporate growth support and IPO support. xIB JAPAN and Fukuoka Stock Exchange to jointly promote regional company growth and capital market access.
• Seven Seas Entertainment, LLCcoreOthers · 1 March 2026Acquired as subsidiary (March 2026); North America's largest independent manga/light novel publisher with Penguin Random House distribution. Publishes over 5,000 titles from 100+ publishers. Key component of Media Do's international expansion strategy for delivering Japanese content globally.
• SHIFT CorporationminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 July 2025Capital and business alliance signed July 2025 for Middle East expansion support. SHIFT provides regional partnership network for service development; Media Do contributes publishing expertise.
• CONIST (Korea)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 August 2023Strategic partnership signed August 2023 for vertical scroll comic content collaboration.
• xID CorporationTechnology or Integration · 18 August 2023Collaboration on digital library services using My Number Card authentication; enabled nationwide first completely online registration/login for library services.
• Tohan (株式会社トーハン)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Capital and business alliance since 2021; Torihon became top shareholder. Collaboration on paper industry digital transformation, NFT digital bonus publishing, and paper distribution network utilization.
• Tokushima Innovation Base (TIB) / xIB JAPANcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Entrepreneur support organization founded by Media Do with Tokushima media companies (Tokushima Shimbun, Shikoku Broadcasting) and financial institutions (Awa Bank, Tokushima Taisho Bank). Expanded nationally as xIB JAPAN in 2023; now in 20 prefectures with 1,600+ members.
• OverDrive, Inc.minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2014Strategic partnership since 2014 for OverDrive digital library service; Media Do operates OverDrive Japan for public libraries and universities.
• Penguin Random HousecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDistribution partner for Seven Seas Entertainment; provides worldwide bookstore distribution network through Penguin Random House infrastructure. Key to Seven Seas' ability to distribute Japanese manga globally.
• Tokushima Ganbarouzu (がんばろう徳島)coreOthersProfessional basketball club operated by subsidiary Ganoru Tokushima; Tokushima's first pro basketball team in B.League (B3, promoting to B.LEAGUE ONE 2026-27). Regional revitalization through sports entertainment; achieved early profitability in second year of operation.
• Amazon (Audible)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMedia Do serves as central hub between publishers and Audible audiobook service. Handles content acquisition (audio format licensing) and joint production of audio content for diverse works.

Scale indicators16 records

Recent moves13 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Rakuten Kobo: Major Japan-focused ebook store with global catalog; competes with Media Do's 150+ ebookstore partners for direct publisher relationships. Closest single-country comparison given overlapping Japan-market ebook distribution and subscription (Kobo Plus) model.
• Scribd: Global ebook/audiobook subscription platform with a similar publisher-aggregation model for content acquisition. Comparable to the Flier and audiobook intermediary components of Media Do's IP Solutions business.
• BookWalker (Kadokawa): Kadokawa's owned ebook and manga store, including BookWalker Global for overseas readers. Directly competes for manga/light novel digital sales that also pass through Media Do's distribution, and exemplifies the publisher-disintermediation threat.
• LINE Manga (LY Corporation): One of Media Do's largest Japanese ebookstore partners (relationship since 2013) but also competes for end-reader manga consumption. Operating a major first-party manga app makes it both customer and competitor — a textbook two-sided market peer.

Emerging players

• OverDrive: US digital library platform; Media Do operates the Japan version under license and runs Accessible Library on related infra. The Japan partnership agreement makes OverDrive an integrated partner/peer rather than a pure rival.

Broad incumbents

• Apple Books: Major global ebook store with Japan availability. Competes with Media Do-distributed channels for shelf placement and consumer spend, especially on iOS where Apple Books is pre-installed.
• Toppan (Toppan Holdings): Large Japanese printing and information-services group with digital content distribution and publishing-IT capabilities. Overlaps with Media Do on the publishing-stack / digital-book infrastructure side of the value chain.
• DNP (Dai Nippon Printing): Large Japanese conglomerate with a digital content / bookstore-platform business (honto via Maruzen-Junkudo). Overlaps with Media Do's ebook aggregation role and library/manga retail functions.
• Amazon Kindle Japan: Largest global ebook retailer and platform; competes with Media Do's 150+ Japanese ebookstores for publisher content. The fact that large publishers continue to wholesale to Kindle despite their Media Do ownership stakes is a key market-structure variable.

Others

• Tohan: Japan's largest physical-book wholesaler; now Media Do's largest shareholder following the 2021 capital alliance. Sits on the print side of the same supply chain Media Do digitizes; alliance partner more than competitor, but a structural peer for publisher relationship-management.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses6 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/mediado3678
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/mediado

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Subsidiaries9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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

M&A8 records

Investments7 records

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

Frequently asked questions about Media Do