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

Other Publishing stories related to: 'Amazon Recruits Comedians, Engineers for Expanding Audio Service'


Dr. Seuss Powers Ahead, With Newly Expanded Licensing in Europe

The Seuss summer is an expansive one in Europe as Slovakia, Albania, and Germany open new licensing deals with the famous brand. The post Dr. Seuss Powers Ahead, With Newly Expanded Licensing in Europe appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-08-20 17:45:59 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #europe appeared #post dr #licensing deals #dr. seuss


Bookouture hires Bonnier's Proko in audio push

Bookouture is expanding its audio team with the appointment of Alba Proko from Bonnier Books UK as audio manager. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-08-18 16:29:40 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Publishing Leaders Issuing Warning over Amazon’s Market Power

If Amazon's market power over book publishing is left unchecked, competition in the industry will continue to diminish, the heads of the AAP, ABA, and Authors Guild wrote in a letter to the chairman of the House Antitrust Subcommittee. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-08-18 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #market power #authors guild #book publishing


Media report: Amazon plans to invest in Rackspace

San Antonio-based cloud services company Rackspace Technology Inc. could get investment from Seattle-based tech giant Amazon.com Inc., according to a Reuters report citing an anonymous source close to the deal. Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) would acquire a minority stake in Rackspace (Nasdaq: RXT) in... Continue reading at Silicon Valley Business Journal

[ Silicon Valley Business Journal | 2020-08-17 16:02:51 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #amazon plans #minority stake #apollo global management llc


US Publishers, Authors, Booksellers Call Out Amazon’s ‘Concentrated Power’ in the Book Market

American professional associations for authors, publishers, and booksellers write to the House subcommittee on antitrust issues about Amazon. The post US Publishers, Authors, Booksellers Call Out Amazon’s ‘Concentrated Power’ in the Book Market appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-08-17 14:51:35 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #booksellers call #book market


US publishing bodies protest against Amazon tactics

Key trade bodies in the US – the Association of American Publishers, the Authors Guild and the American Booksellers Association – have sent a letter to Capitol Hill to protest against "anti-competitive tactics" which they say give Amazon "extraordinary" market dominance in the digital books market. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-08-17 13:53:48 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #american publishers #capitol hill #market dominance #digital books #american booksellers association


Trump’s war on mail-in voting and the postal service

Yesterday, a pair of TV interviews crystallized just how the Trump administration is threatening the integrity of the election. On CNBC, Larry Kudlow, Trump’s top economic adviser, cast “voting rights” as part of a “liberal-left wish list,” adding, “That’s not our game.” On Fox Business, Trump... Continue reading at Columbia Journalism Review

[ Columbia Journalism Review | 2020-08-14 12:26:12 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #sharp contrast #delivery truck #memoir


Amazon Charts: Midnight Sun dawns at the top

Stephenie Meyer's Midnight Sun (Atom) rose 11 places to top the Amazon Charts' Most-Sold: Fiction chart, as the Twilight reboot sold 62,460 copies in hardback to claim the UK Official Top 50 number one through Nielsen BookScan's TCM. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-08-12 02:23:16 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #amazon charts #stephenie meyer #fiction chart #nielsen bookscan #nielsen #hardback


Penguin to release audio study guides series

Penguin is to release a series of audio study guides to accompany key English literature A-level texts.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-08-11 19:08:23 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


How Amazon puts misinformation on your reading list | John Naughton

Algorithms routinely come up with ‘recommendations’ for anti-vax ‘bestsellers’ or juices that cure cancerIt’s a truism that we live in a “digital age”. It would be more accurate to say that we live in an algorithmically curated era – that is, a period when many of our choices and perceptions are... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2020-08-08 16:00:12 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #digital age #browsing history


HBO Max Expands Originals With Ridley Scott Sci-Fi Series, Selena Gomez Cooking Show

NBCUniversal's streaming service Peacock has an original science fiction series, Brave New World. Netflix is prepping Away, an upcoming sci-fi drama following a group of astronauts on a journey to Mars. Now, HBO Max has announced the premiere date of its own ambitious sci-fi show. Raised by... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2020-08-05 21:37:25 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #hbo max #premiere date #science fiction


Binc Adding Staff to Service Demand

Citing a surge in demand for its services, the Book Industry Charitable Foundation, the nonprofit organization that assists booksellers in need, has promoted Kate Weiss to programs manager, and is recruiting a new communications coordinator. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-08-05 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #nonprofit organization #assists booksellers #programs manager #book industry


Amazon Charts: Stephen Hawking soars into the stratosphere

Stephen Hawking's Brief Answers to the Big Questions (John Murray) has rocketed to the top of the Amazon Charts' Most-Sold: Non-Fiction chart, as Val McDermid's A Place of Execution (HarperCollins) cleaved into the Most-Sold: Fiction number one. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-08-04 16:57:32 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #amazon charts #stephen hawking #non-fiction chart #val mcdermid #fiction number


Penguin Random House Extends Temporary E-book, Digital Audio Terms for Libraries

Terms of sale first enacted in March to help librarians during the Covid-19 crisis will now run through the end of the year. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-08-03 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #covid-19 crisis #libraries #random house


Amazon sees sales and income soar during lockdown

Amazon has reported a 40% rise in net sales for the second quarter compared to the same time last year, while operating income soared by 87%. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-07-31 11:46:26 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #net sales #quarter compared


Amazon Online Sales Soared in Q2

Online sales at Amazon jumped 48% in the second quarter of 2020 over the comparable period in 2019, to $45.9 billion. Total revenue rose 40% and operating income skyrocketed 87%. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-07-31 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #online sales


On Capitol Hill, an anonymous bookseller called out Amazon.

If you tuned into yesterday’s historic House Judiciary Subcommittee antitrust hearing, during which the top executives of some of the world’s largest tech companies tried convincing politicians that they weren’t monopolies, you may have heard a bookseller chime in during Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’s... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-07-30 19:54:55 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #capitol hill #top executives #bookseller


Amazon Charts: In a House of Lies hits the roof for a third week

Ian Rankin's In a House of Lies (Orion) has claimed the Amazon Charts' Most-Sold: Fiction number one spot for a third week, as Mary L Trump's Too Much and Never Enough (S&S) holds the Most-Sold: Non-Fiction top spot. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-07-29 08:22:22 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #amazon charts #ian rankin #lies orion #fiction number


Capital Crime launches Book Club subscription service

Capital Crime is launching a monthly subscription service, providing two curated paperbacks alongside exclusive author content and access to community activities. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-07-28 02:25:45 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #capital crime #community activities #book club


PRH commissions all-star cast for Beatrix Potter audio

Penguin Random House is celebrating Beatrix Potter’s birthday with a new audio edition of Beatrix Potter: The Complete Tales, narrated by stars including Olivia Colman, Tom Hardy and David Harewood. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-07-27 18:13:08 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #penguin random house