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 ]
#LoveAudio, the Publishers Association's annual audiobook campaign, will return for a fifth year this month. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-07-10 01:47:32 UTC ]
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No matter if it is Austen or Atwood, the Brontës or Booker winners, data shows men are reluctant to read women – and this has real world implicationsThe byline at the top of this piece reads MA Sieghart, not Mary Ann. Why? Because I really want men to read it too. Female authors through the... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2021-07-09 07:00:41 UTC ]
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HarperCollins is releasing a new unabridged audiobook of J R R Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings in three parts in September, read by Andy Serkis, who starred as Gollum in the blockbuster movies. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-07-07 11:53:26 UTC ]
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The Ashland, Ore.–based independent audiobook publisher is seeing double-digit growth for CDs and MP3-CDs thanks to new partnerships, even as other publishers abandon the formats. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-06-25 04:00:00 UTC ]
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J K Rowling's Cormoran Strike series, written under the name Robert Galbraith, have hit an audiobook milestone for Little, Brown ahead of the fifth novel's paperback release. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-06-21 11:49:14 UTC ]
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Publishing houses in Romania are working together to produce the Echo audiobook subscription platform, a first in its market. The post Beat Technology Is Developing Romania’s First Audiobook Program appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2021-06-14 04:05:13 UTC ]
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In every skirmish in the ‘culture war’, be it fought in universities, Twitter or Parliament, there’s an inevitable reference to Harry Potter. The Potter references can seem like a joke; the perpetual furore around the politics of a ‘mere’ children’s author more so. But it is no laughing matter.... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-06-10 22:19:40 UTC ]
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With help from Harry Potter, the Magic School Bus and the Baby-Sitters Club, he created the largest publisher and distributor of children’s books. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2021-06-08 11:45:51 UTC ]
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Bookwire, the international e-book and audiobook distribution platform, is launching its services in the U.S. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-06-04 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Harry Potter publisher issues third profit upgrade of 2021 after sales increase to £185mCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageLockdown reading has helped the Harry Potter publisher Bloomsbury to its third profit upgrade of the year after a 22% surge in annual pre-tax... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2021-06-02 08:20:05 UTC ]
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In 2020, the Audio Publishers Association sales report finds more than 71,000 audiobooks were published in the US, up 39 percent over 2019. The post Audio Publishers Association Cites 12-Percent 2020 US Audiobook Revenue Growth appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2021-06-01 13:14:36 UTC ]
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The Audio Publishers Association’s annual review of the audiobook market found another year of double-digit sales increases as well as a profound shift in listening habits. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-06-01 04:00:00 UTC ]
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RBmedia has acquired the audiobook publishing business of McGraw-Hill Professional in a deal that adds about 400 business books to the audio publisher's list, chief content officer Troy Juliar said. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-05-11 04:00:00 UTC ]
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These awards include recognition for rights professionals, audiobook publishers, bookstores, educational learning resources, and more. The post London Book Fair: The 2021 International Excellence Awards Shortlist appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2021-05-10 13:31:32 UTC ]
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Bloomsbury is to release a gift book featuring Harry Potter illustrations by Jim Kay, accompanied by quotes from the series. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-04-28 20:34:58 UTC ]
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New figures from the Publishers Association show fiction and audiobooks did particularly well, with value of consumer sales up 7% on 2019 despite bookshop closuresFiction sales in 2020 soared by more than £100m for UK publishers, as readers locked down at home made their escape into books, with... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2021-04-26 23:01:49 UTC ]
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Kids can enjoy audiobooks and podcasts too thanks to the child-friendly Yoto Player and its library. Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2021-04-23 13:00:10 UTC ]
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Actor was also known for her roles in the films The Queen and The Special RelationshipA life in pictures‘How should a woman live her life?’ | Helen McCroryEngaging, enthralling, always magnetically watchableThe actor Helen McCrory has died at the age of 52. McCrory was best known for her roles... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2021-04-16 17:01:51 UTC ]
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In an attempt to take the subject beyond March, this month’s audiobook recommendations shine a light on women’s history, known and unknown, heralded and not. Viewing the glass as half-empty, it’s dispiriting how many of these stories remain untold, forgotten, or misunderstood. But let’s be... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2021-04-05 08:49:04 UTC ]
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Have you ever wondered who's responsible for making sure an audiobook matches the print? It's proof listeners! Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2021-04-01 10:37:00 UTC ]
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