As long promised, now Spotify has launched audiobooks, making 300,000 titles available for purchase to its US users. Spotify’s vp and global head of audiobooks and gated content Nir Zicherman said, “Starting today, users in the US can easily find audiobooks on Spotify alongside music and podcasts as a section in their library, in search, and in their curated recommendations on Home.” Audiobooks are priced individually (the company says prices are “competitive and in line with other a la carte audiobook retailers”) and there is no credit system in place akin to Audible’s. The app includes a bookmarking function and […]
Audio
Audio: More Diversion Podcasts, Pluto Audio
Diversion Audio announced four forthcoming podcasts, comprising their first offerings in talk and fiction formats. “War Queens” in the fall features actor Nathalie Emmanuel; “The Royals of Malibu” launches on Valentine’s Day 2023, based on the romance series The Royals by Erin Watt. UK Publisher Pluto Books has launched Pluto Audio. Six titles are currently available for purchase on their website, and 12 more are planned for 2022.
Acquisitions: RBMedia Acquires Upfront Books
RBMedia announced the acquisition of audiobook publisher Upfront Books, founded in 2019 by Tyler Finkelstein. The company works with publishers, self-published authors, and literary estates. RBmedia CEO Tom MacIsaac said in the release, “We’re impressed with the quality of the business and catalog that Tyler and his team have built in just a few years. This acquisition supports RBmedia’s continued business growth and expansion initiatives.” Upfront says they have a “technology-driven process to identify, license, produce, and publish great titles as audiobooks for the very first time.”
Spotify Sees Audiobooks As A “Massive Opportunity”
During the company’s Investor Day on Wednesday, Spotify founder and ceo Daniel Ek asserted that, “We believe that audiobooks, in their many different forms, will be a massive opportunity.” Spotify’s planned acquisition of audiobook distributor Findaway, which they had expected to close quickly before the end of 2021, is still pending, presumably awaiting regulatory approval. Ek deployed some typically creative/expansive tech-world math to quantify the opportunity they foresee: Audiobooks currently have about 6-7 percent of the market share of the global book market, which he said was around $140 billion, but in “the most penetrated audiobook markets” (presumably Scandinavian countries […]
After All These Years, Barnes & Noble Tries Again with Digital Audiobooks
Barnes & Noble is trying again with a full-fledged offering of digital audiobooks, available for single-title sales or through a monthly subscription priced at $14.99. They promise a catalog of over 300,000 titles. In a bit of brand confusion, the new initiative is called Barnes & Noble Audiobooks, though it’s tied to the all-but-dead Nook brand, since customers will listen to their audiobooks through the Nook mobile apps. (Separately, BN recently had to discontinue in-app purchases through their Android Nook app, after Google changed their terms to require the use of the Google Play billing system.)
Spotify Releases “Bookcast” of Parton-Patterson Novel
Spotify announced the release of its first “bookcast,” an audiobook/podcast hybrid of portions of Dolly Parton and James Patterson’s Run, Rose, Run. The bookcast combines excerpts of the audiobook narration with songs Parton wrote and recorded as the soundtrack for the book. The project functions as a preview for the novel (out March 7) and the soundtrack (out March 4). The first two four-minute episodes are available now, with another released next week and the last six dropping on March 7, when the book is available. “This unique audio experience exemplifies the limitless potential of audio and Spotify’s commitment to […]