RBMedia has signed a three-year agreement to expand its audiobooks partnership with Chronicle Books. The deal will see RBMedia “increase the amount of Chronicle Books audio it publishes and collaborate with Chronicle Books on a variety of titles.” Tyrrell Mahoney, president of Chronicle Books, said, “We are excited to expand upon our partnership with RBmedia to develop our world-renowned, distinctive publishing into compelling audio experiences. This collaboration will ensure that an even wider range of our publishing program will be accessible each season to be heard and enjoyed.”
Audio
Audio: PRH Audio Expands Partnership with Peachtree Publishing
PRH Audio has made a deal with Peachtree Publishing to produce audiobooks of their frontlist chapter book, middle grade, YA, and Spanish-language releases, starting with spring 2023 titles. Previously, the two companies had worked together to turn select Peachtree titles into audiobooks. The list will include “about 20 audiobooks per year” and be released under PRH Audio’s Listening Library imprint. Rebecca Waugh at Listening Library acquired world English rights for titles included in the deal. She said in the announcement, “We’re excited to publish even more audiobooks with Peachtree as they expand their list of stellar children’s and YA titles. […]
Spotify’s Plans for Audiobook Growth Were Based on Magical Thinking About Apple’s App Store
Spotify has answered for themselves the question about whether their long-touted audiobooks offering will have much impact on the market. The company has struggled to obtain approval from Apple’s app store for their efforts to circumvent the well-known rules around in-app purchases. It turns out if you don’t want to pay Apple their 30 percent commission, you wind up with an awkward process: “The Audiobooks purchase flow that Apple’s rules force us to provide consumers today is far too complicated and confusing.” Spotify seems to think there is something new about this: “This harms not only consumers, but, this time, […]
Forthcoming Audio: The Trump Tapes by Bob Woodward
Simon & Schuster Audio will release The Trump Tapes by Bob Woodward, an “eight-hour audio archive of Bob Woodward’s twenty interviews with President Donald J. Trump,” on October 25. The book will be available simultaneously in both the US and the UK. The publisher writes in a release that the 19 interviews begin in March 2016, when Trump was on the verge of obtaining the Republican nomination, and continue through August 2020 as Woodward prepared for his second book on the presidency. Chris Lynch, president and publisher of Simon & Schuster Audio, said, “This audiobook is essential listening for anyone […]
Easier Listening
Building on the recent launch of our daily audio version of the day’s publishing news, our Publishers Lunchcast is now available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, where you can listen or subscribe.
RBmedia Acquires John Verlag’s German-language Audiobook Catalog
Audiobook company RBmedia has acquired John Verlag’s German-language audiobook catalog. The newly-acquired titles–described in a release as “predominantly nonfiction audiobooks in the politics, investigative journalism, business, biographies, and advice genres”–will be added to the RBmedia Verlag audio brand. As the company notes in the announcement, since 2021 RBmedia has acquired five European audiobook catalogs—Booka, ABOD, Hörbuch München, Éditions Thélème, and now John Verlag.