Amazon Recruits Comedians, Engineers for Expanding Audio Service

Amazon.com Inc. is ramping up its investment in podcasts and other radio-style shows to expand the types of programming it offers via Audible, the audio book company it acquired in 2008.Audible has recruited well-known comedians, along with radio and podcast producers for the initiative, and job postings suggest a significant global push. Maria Bamford and Jonathan Katz are taping episodes of "Bedtime Stories," a show in which comedians rewrite fairy tales, according to their manager Bruce Smith.Entertainment plays a crucial role in Amazon's effort to push beyond its core business of selling books, laundry detergent and televisions online. The Seattle-based company's original films and TV shows have won critical acclaim and helped increase the appeal of its $99-a-year Prime service, which includes delivery discounts along with video and music streaming. Audible has more than 250,000 audio programs including books and plays, with downloads available for iPhones, Androids and other smartphone systems. Continue reading at AdAge.com Continue reading at 'Advertising Age'

[ Advertising Age | 2016-01-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #selling books #laundry detergent #tv shows #music streaming

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Amazon appears to be testing an unlimited Kindle ebook subscription

Amazon.com appears to be testing a new subscription model that would give members all-you-can-read access to more than 600,000 ebooks for $9.99 a month.  Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2014-07-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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INM recruits Tesco man to be its chief executive

The Irish-based newspaper publisher, Independent News & Media (INM), has appointed a former Tesco executive, Robert Pitt, to be its chief executive. The experienced supermarket executive will take up the position in the autumn. Pitt, a 43-year-old Irishman, is currently chief operations... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-07-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Polish Book Chains Re-imagine Stores, Expand to Small Cities

Poland's two largest bookstore chains, Matras and Empik, are adding new services and plan vast expansions amid a shrinking number of independent bookstores. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-07-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon Versus Hachette: The Whole Story

Amazon's long-running standoff with Hachette has been making headlines for months. Here's the whole story in PW coverage. What began as a "scuffle" now has us using the language of war to describe it. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon tells authors 100% royalty offer was 'sincere'

Amazon has hit back at the American Author's Guild for calling its offer to temporarily give... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-07-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publishers give Web articles audio options

Digital publishers are moving the battle for audience attention from their eyeballs to their eardrums. The post Publishers give Web articles audio options appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2014-07-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Children's book author refuses award backed by Amazon

Allan Ahlberg refused a lifetime achievement award because it was sponsored by the internet bookseller Amazon. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-07-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Audio Book Club Meets Karl Ove

This month, Dan Kois, David Haglund, and New York Times Book Review editor Parul Sehgal discuss My Struggle: Book One, the Norwegian writer Karl Ove Knausgaard’s six-book autobiographical epic. Can the endless accretion of detail a masterpiece make? Would people respond differently to this... Continue reading at Slate

[ Slate | 2014-07-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon Appeals Directly to Hachette’s Authors

The Wall Street Journal reports that Amazon has gone directly to authors 'hoping to gain hearts and minds – and leverage' in its dispute with Hachette. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-07-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon offers 100 percent of ebook profits to Hachette authors as dispute rages on

Amazon recently offered Hachette writers 100 percent of ebook profits until the dispute between the publisher and the bookselling giant is resolved. The move prompted criticism from Hachette.  Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-07-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon-backed award turned down by Ahlberg

Distinguished children’s author Allan Ahlberg [pictured] has declined the inaugural... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-07-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Preston Finalizes Letter to Amazon

After writing a letter to readers calling on them to ask the e-tailer to end its sales terms dispute with Hachette, Preston posted an updated version of the note, complete with the signatures he has collected from other authors. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon offers Hachette authors 100% ebook royalties

The war of words between Amazon and Hachette US escalated overnight, after Amazon offered authors... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-07-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Al Manhal Arabic Education Epublisher Goes Paperback via Amazon

Al Manhal, the UAE-based Arabic digital education publisher, is now offer paperback editions of its work worldwide via Amazon marketplace. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-07-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon appeals directly to authors in ongoing ebook dispute

Despite sounding like a rogue militant organization from G.I. Joe, Hatchette is actually a book publishing group. Tame as that may sound, Hatchette is currently engaged in a high-stakes game of Chicken with a juggernaut in the book sales world:... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2014-07-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon Tries to Drive Wedge Between Hachette and Its Authors

Amazon.com Inc. is offering authors caught up in its dispute with Hachette Book Group all proceeds from the sale of any digital book, seeking to bypass the publisher and appeal directly to writers.Amazon sent a letter to authors, including Douglas Preston, proposing to extract them from the spat... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2014-07-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amid Hachette fight, Amazon appeals to authors

Amazon.com Inc. is offering authors caught up in its dispute with Hachette Book Group all of the proceeds from the sale of any digital book, seeking to bypass the publisher and appeal directly to the... To view the full story, click the title link. Continue reading at Crains New York

[ Crains New York | 2014-07-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon's Latest Proposal Rankles Hachette and Authors

The acrimony between Amazon and Hachette does not appear to waning. And their battle, over ebook sales terms, continues to play out in newspaper headlines. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon and Hachette take ebooks battle into public domain

The stand-off between the internet retail giant and the publishing corporation has drawn both sides into open contention over commercial termsThe extraordinary stand-off between Amazon and Hachette saw battle lines further entrenched on Tuesday as both parties took to the public arena to insult... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-07-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amid Hachette dispute, Amazon appeals to authors

Amazon.com Inc. is offering authors caught up in its dispute with Hachette Book Group all of the proceeds from the sale of any digital book, seeking to bypass the publisher and appeal directly to the... To view the full story, click the title link. Continue reading at Crains New York

[ Crains New York | 2014-07-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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