When is a book not a book? When it is performed by a starry cast of hundreds. Except it has always been more complicated than thatNews this week of a 17% hike in the UK’s audiobook sales might seem like a niche business story, but it raises an existential question. What exactly is an audiobook today? Is it a book? Is it a play? Or is it becoming something else entirely? What is clear is that a jostle for market dominance is driving it into new dimensions. The streaming platform Spotify followed its move into podcasting two years ago with the launch of an audiobooks business. Though it has yet to start making its own recordings, last autumn it made a deal for 200,000 audiobooks to be available to its premium users.Not to be outdone, Amazon-owned Audible – accustomed to being the market leader – upped its game, hiring the Oscar-winning director Sam Mendes to record multi-voice versions of the Dickens novels Oliver Twist and David Copperfield, and announcing last month that it had reached an agreement for a recording of JK Rowling’s Harry Potter series, voiced by more than 100 actors and featuring a “groundbreaking new soundscape”. The new Potter audiobooks, it said, would not usurp but “sit alongside and complement” conventional recordings by Stephen Fry and Jim Dale, which Audible also hosts. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2024-05-10 17:25:03 UTC ]
Harry Potter stars Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint are reuniting with other cast members from the blockbuster film franchise for a special 20th anniversary TV retrospective, movie studio Warner Bros. said on Tuesday. Continue reading at CBC
[ CBC | 2021-11-16 22:10:32 UTC ]
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Storytel, the international audiobook streaming company, is buying Audiobooks.com from KKR, owner of RBMedia, for an undisclosed amount. This marks the fast-growing company's entry into the English-language audiobook market. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-11-14 05:00:00 UTC ]
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I used to imagine an Apple event where its c.e.o. Tim Cook would unveil a standalone audiobook app with exclusive audio-only titles available on subscription. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-11-12 06:30:02 UTC ]
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Looking to accelerate its expansion into the audiobook market, the Swedish audio streaming subscription service giant Spotify has agreed to acquire Ohio-based digital audiobook distributor Findaway for an undisclosed price. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-11-12 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Spotify could soon be home to a lot more audiobooks. The streaming service has acquired audiobook platform Findaway, the companies announced. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the acquisition suggests Spotify is looking to build out its own library of audiobook titles.Findaway is an... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2021-11-11 21:00:04 UTC ]
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We at Engadget spend a lot of time thinking about the best tech gifts for anyone and everyone in your life. But during that process, we often can’t help but think about the things we’d like to receive as gifts. We encourage everyone to treat themselves in some way while scrambling to find gifts... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2021-11-11 15:30:08 UTC ]
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Twenty years after the release of the first Harry Potter film, does he continue to charm children and adults alike? Continue reading at The Conversation
[ The Conversation | 2021-11-09 16:16:49 UTC ]
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The audio producer, founded in 2018 by author Malcolm Gladwell and former Slate Group chairman and editor-in-chief Jacob Weisberg, has built a slate of more than 25 podcasts since its launch, and is ramping up audiobook production. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-11-05 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Does listening to an audiobook while working hinder or enhance productivity? Let’s discuss. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2021-10-30 12:00:00 UTC ]
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Audiobook firm W F Howes has teamed up with publisher Head of Zeus on the audio launch for Lọlá Ákínmádé Åkerström’s debut novel In Every Mirror She’s Black. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-10-29 01:40:29 UTC ]
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Titles such as Tom Kerridge’s latest cookbook prove popular for Bloomsbury during Covid pandemicCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageBloomsbury, the Harry Potter publisher, has unveiled record sales and profits on the back of the popularity of titles including Tom... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2021-10-27 10:02:41 UTC ]
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The powerhouse children’s publisher, known for Harry Potter, had been passed from father to son until Iole Lucchese, a top executive, was given control. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2021-10-18 18:41:08 UTC ]
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A Squid Game manicure, Harry Potter wand classes, a fountain covered in nails, and the latest waxwork of the Queen. Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2021-10-17 12:08:52 UTC ]
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Amazon’s audiobook service Audible and phone apps for reading the holy books of Islam and Christianity have disappeared from the Apple store in mainland China Continue reading at ABC News
[ ABC News | 2021-10-15 21:01:46 UTC ]
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From Grange Hill to the West End, via Eurovision and the Brit awards, the star has built multiple careers. She talks about stage-school pressure, TV diversity and playing Hermione in Harry Potter and the Cursed ChildMichelle Gayle was 10 months into her role as Hermione Granger in Harry Potter... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2021-10-13 08:41:05 UTC ]
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The installation marks the 20th anniversary of the film Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Continue reading at Media Week
[ Media Week | 2021-10-07 15:35:52 UTC ]
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Farshore has adopted a "total audio" strategy which will see the imprint publish an audiobook for every narrative book published in print. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-10-05 22:40:19 UTC ]
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Love listening to audiobooks at 1.25 or 1.5 or even 2 times the speed? Here's your challenge to slow down and listen with intention. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2021-10-04 10:39:00 UTC ]
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Bafta-winning actor Toby Jones will read the audiobook of John le Carré’s final novel, Silverview, which publishes on 14th October 2021. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-09-28 22:01:16 UTC ]
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You no longer have to wonder just what Netflix's adaptation of Sandman will look like. Netflix has shared a teaser for The Sandman that reveals the pivotal moment when an occult ritual captures Morpheus (aka Dream, played by Tom Sturridge) and sets the story in motion. As author Neil Gaiman put... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2021-09-25 17:30:41 UTC ]
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