Earlier this year we started offering Circana Bookscan’s digital audio sales data from PubTrack Digital Audio as an upgrade to the agents, authors and other professionals who get annual data subscriptions through PM. Now we are incorporating that data when available into Dealmakers records, which show complete point-of-sales across all editions for over 80,000 titles. Plus, as of this week, those people who get our ridiculously affordable monthly Bookscan Data Package also have the option to add digital audio when available, when adding new titles to the monthly tracker. (Digital audiobook sales are available only for titles published by Hachette […]
Audio
Hello Sunshine and iHeartPodcasts and Launch ‘Bookmarked’ Podcast
Hello Sunshine and iHeartPodcasts are launching a new books podcast called ‘Bookmarked by Reese’s Book Club.’ Journalist and TV host Danielle Robay will “bring together celebrities, tastemakers, influencers and authors from Reese’s Book Club and beyond.” The first episode debuts on June 24, featuring conversations with Emily Henry and Yulin Kuang. New episodes will come out on Tuesdays after that. The podcast will also feature, “a listener-submitted question and answer segment with submissions taken through a dedicated hotline, giving audiences the chance to engage and participate in the conversation.” “At Reese’s Book Club, we’re always looking for new ways to bring […]
Audible Rolls Out AI Narration Technology for Publishers, Preps for AI Translation
Audible officially announced their initiative to offer services for “fully integrated, end-to-end” AI narration and production for audiobooks, including machine translation. Publishers can choose from more than 100 voices in English, Spanish, French, and Italian, “with multiple accent and dialect options, and will be able to access voice upgrades for their titles as our technology evolves.” “Audible believes that AI represents a momentous opportunity to expand the availability of audiobooks with the vision of offering customers every book in every language, alongside our continued investments in premium original content,” Audible ceo Bob Carrigan. “We’ll be able to bring more stories […]
Pending Spotify Update Will Allow Users To Buy Audiobooks A La Carte And Top Up Hours
Spotify has submitted an app update to Apple that, if approved, will allow users to buy audiobooks a la carte and Premium users to top up hours in-app, which has previously not been allowed by Apple. The update follows a court ruling on Epic Games v. Apple, which granted developers more freedom to show pricing. Previously, Apple charged a 30% commission on user purchases in-app, and prevented Spotify from telling customers the cost of audiobooks or where to buy them. Spotify writes in an announcement that the court ruling “helps level the playing field by allowing developers to offer basic […]
Spotify To Invest To Develop French and Dutch Audiobooks
Spotify announced that it will spend €1 million to partner with publishers and authors to increase audiobook production in non-English languages, beginning with French and Dutch. The audiobooks that Spotify “cofunds” will be nonexclusive and available to upload on any platform. Though the company “believes in the power of human narration” and will “continue to work with partners and the narrator community to bring these titles to fans in French and Dutch languages,” they will also offer an option for narration by an AI voice, “to help make audiobook production more cost-effective for those partners who require a lower barrier […]
Spotify Audiobooks Solicits Short Audio Content from Independent Authors
Spotify has launched a new website for authors to submit short English-language content for possible audiobook creation and publication by Spotify. Authors are encouraged to submit adult romance, mystery/thriller, or sci-fi/fantasy stories of 10,000 to 20,000 words that are “written specifically for audio.” The program is open to authors who control their own audio rights. Spotify will pay an advance and royalties for any selected book, and manage production. Authors can distribute the book in print or ebook on any platform. “Spotify Audiobooks is thrilled to be opening submissions for short-form content written by independent authors who are as passionate […]