The Guardian view on audiobooks: a growing market that asks existential questions | Editorial

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 ]

Other news stories related to: "The Guardian view on audiobooks: a growing market that asks existential questions | Editorial"

5 Audiobook Essay Collections Ideally Suited to Your Quarantine Walks

As a verb, one definition of essay is to try. As horrible as 2020 was, let’s pretend it means to try again. Audiobooks of self-contained pieces between twenty and sixty minutes seem perfectly suited for walks, commutes, and household chores. Essays might also be perfect for attention spans... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2021-01-28 09:48:07 UTC ]
More news stories like this

Christopher Little, Who Built an Empire Around a Boy Wizard, Dies at 79

As a struggling literary agent in London, he took a chance on J.K. Rowling and Harry Potter, turning her books into the most lucrative literary franchise in history. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2021-01-27 22:39:44 UTC ]
More news stories like this

Authors' brands: a case of doublethink?

JK Rowling is. John le Carré isn’t. Albert Camus and F. Scott Fitzgerald are. George Orwell might or might not be. I’m talking about registered trade marks. Authors make copyright works, and their agents’ job is to maximise revenues from those intangibles. End of story, right? Kind of. A... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-01-26 12:24:33 UTC ]
More news stories like this

Citi sticks with Justin Thomas and Twitter asks users to flag misinformation: Tuesday Wake-Up Call

Welcome to Ad Age’s Wake-Up Call, our daily roundup of advertising, marketing, media and digital news. If you're reading this online or in a forwarded email, here's the link to sign up for our Wake-Up Call newsletters. 'Party in the U.S.A. ' Good morning! Remember last week when we reported... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2021-01-26 11:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this

The magic question: can a Harry Potter TV show work?

News of a Harry Potter show in early development at HBO Max begs the question: what can justify another extension to an already stretched universe?When I saw the news, reported by the Hollywood Reporter, that HBO Max was in talks to develop live-action Harry Potter television series, all details... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2021-01-25 21:19:03 UTC ]
More news stories like this

Reputation Reparo! A Harry Potter TV series is in early development at HBO Max.

The Hollywood Reporter announced this morning that a new Harry Potter series is in early development at HBO Max. Though HBO Max and Warner Bros. said in a statement that “there are no Harry Potter series in development at the studio or on the streaming platform,” multiple sources have confirmed... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2021-01-25 18:25:26 UTC ]
More news stories like this

Audiobook Apps for Bilingual Readers and Language Learners

Whether you're practicing a language, or want to read a book in its original language, try these audiobook apps for language learning. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2021-01-20 11:39:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this

5 Must-Listen Short Story Collections on Audio

These beautifully narrated audiobook short story collections tell precise, polished tales about Black women, the fantastical, and more. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2021-01-19 11:30:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this

The Black Friend by Frederick Joseph, Read by Miebaca Yohannes

Every Monday through Friday, AudioFile’s editors recommend the best in audiobook listening. We keep our daily episodes short and sweet, with audiobook clips to give you a sample of our featured listens. Miebaka Yohannes narrates The Black Friend with a conversational tone that mirrors Frederick... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2021-01-19 09:47:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this

A different Calibre: audiobook charity shares how it is meeting growing demand

North London-based charity Calibre Audio's Emma Scott talks to us about how it has navigated the boom in the audio sector to continue fulfilling it mission to provide free audiobooks to those with a print disability. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-01-18 13:02:19 UTC ]
More news stories like this

Fox on board to narrate Mason's Sorrow and Bliss

Emilia Fox is to read the audiobook of Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason, publishing with Weidenfeld & Nicolson in February. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-01-14 18:36:31 UTC ]
More news stories like this

'Hogwarts Legacy' has been delayed to 2022

Budding wizards and witches will have to wait a while longer to delve into Hogwarts Legacy. The open-world Harry Potter RPG, which was supposed to arrive this year, has been delayed to 2022. pic.twitter.com/9zqii6DZLm— Hogwarts Legacy (@HogwartsLeg... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2021-01-13 17:44:36 UTC ]
More news stories like this

Pottermore sales and profits rise with 'strong' Harry Potter sales

Pottermore, the digital company for J K Rowling’s Wizarding World, saw revenues rise 3.2% and profits increase 23.2% in the 12 months to 31st March 2020. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-01-13 12:26:57 UTC ]
More news stories like this

Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey, Read by the Author

Every Monday through Friday, AudioFile’s editors recommend the best in audiobook listening. We keep our daily episodes short and sweet, with audiobook clips to give you a sample of our featured listens. The product of a self-imposed desert exile with his exhaustive collection of personal... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2021-01-08 09:46:50 UTC ]
More news stories like this

American Savior by Roland Merullo, Read by Dion Graham

Every Monday through Friday, AudioFile’s editors recommend the best in audiobook listening. We keep our daily episodes short and sweet, with audiobook clips to give you a sample of our featured listens. What would happen if Jesus’s second coming occurred in America, and he believed the best way... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2021-01-01 09:00:28 UTC ]
More news stories like this

We Keep the Dead Close by Becky Cooper, Read by the Author

Every Monday through Friday, AudioFile’s editors recommend the best in audiobook listening. We keep our daily episodes short and sweet, with audiobook clips to give you a sample of our featured listens. Author and narrator Becky Cooper’s true-crime audiobook, We Keep the Dead Close, chronicles... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-12-30 09:46:52 UTC ]
More news stories like this

The Unspoken by Ian K. Smith, Read by Amir Abdullah

Every Monday through Friday, AudioFile’s editors recommend the best in audiobook listening. We keep our daily episodes short and sweet, with audiobook clips to give you a sample of our featured listens. Narrator Amir Abdullah depicts Chicago’s wealthy enclaves, struggling neighborhoods, and... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-12-30 09:44:33 UTC ]
More news stories like this

I Want to Be Where the Normal People Are by Rachel Bloom, Read by the Author

Every Monday through Friday, AudioFile’s editors recommend the best in audiobook listening. We keep our daily episodes short and sweet, with audiobook clips to give you a sample of our featured listens. Actress and comedian Rachel Bloom narrates her own memoir, I Want to Be Where the Normal... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-12-29 09:46:38 UTC ]
More news stories like this

The Cold Millions by Jess Walter, Read by a Full Cast

Every Monday through Friday, AudioFile’s editors recommend the best in audiobook listening. We keep our daily episodes short and sweet, with audiobook clips to give you a sample of our featured listens. Narrator Edoardo Ballerini anchors a full-cast performance of The Cold Millions, a story that... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-12-28 09:00:55 UTC ]
More news stories like this