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 ]
The Harry Potter author said her new fairy tale would go online in installments, starting Tuesday, and published as a book in November. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2020-05-26 14:47:26 UTC ]
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A selection of recent audiobooks of interest; plus, a peek at what our colleagues around the newsroom are reading. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2020-05-26 09:00:06 UTC ]
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Everyone peaked too early. You remember. The beginning of lockdown, when suddenly half of your friends were FaceTiming you about Tiger King, or downloading a language app, and so many people ordered yoga mats online that they took an estimated six weeks to be delivered. Now the yoga mat... Continue reading at British Council global
[ British Council global | 2020-05-22 15:30:00 UTC ]
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The National Literacy Trust has partnered with cosmetics company Lancôme to launch an audiobook club for young women. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-05-18 13:24:10 UTC ]
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It’s a long-standing joke in lockdown now – among those of us quarantined, self-isolating, or lucky enough to keep working from home – that we don’t know which day it is. Or even which week. And did I shower this morning, or was it yesterday? Our immediate surroundings have been so similar for... Continue reading at British Council global
[ British Council global | 2020-05-15 14:46:20 UTC ]
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I am not going to write about the illness; the headaches, the pain in my lungs and chest, the loss of smell (wine has still not yet been consumed), the breathlessness, the trip to A&E… Yep a seven long week Covid drama and if I had to use an emoji to illustrate the whole sodding experience,... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-05-11 08:59:32 UTC ]
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Once upon a time, round about the start of the year, there was a settled order in the audiobook recording world. A relatively small number of voice artists had at-home recording setups – often a booth, built in a spare room or the garden shed, which gave the experienced narrator greater... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-05-10 19:59:08 UTC ]
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Having just acquired Sonolibro, Saga Egmont director Lasse Korsemann Horne sees the Spanish-language audiobook market as a key territory for expansion. The post Denmark’s Saga Egmont on Its Acquisition of Spain’s Sonolibro appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-05-07 15:29:40 UTC ]
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Answer the 10 questions in the Dumbledore's Army quiz and you will find out if you are more of a Harry or Neville or one of the other members! Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-05-06 10:34:02 UTC ]
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Daniel Radcliffe, David Beckham and Dakota Fanning are among a handful of celebrities who will be reading various chapters of “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone/Sorcerer’s Stone” exclusively on Spotify. The move underscores the streaming giant's efforts to invade all things digital audio. Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2020-05-05 18:54:51 UTC ]
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Daniel Radcliffe, David Beckham and Dakota Fanning are among a handful of celebrities who will be reading various chapters of “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone/Sorcerer’s Stone” exclusively on Spotify. Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2020-05-05 18:54:51 UTC ]
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David Beckham, Dakota Fanning, Eddie Redmayne and "Harry Potter" himself, Daniel Radcliffe, have all signed on to read chapters of "The Sorcerer's Stone." Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2020-05-05 18:07:58 UTC ]
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Daniel Radcliffe will lead an all-star read-along of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-05-05 17:46:56 UTC ]
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The stars are coming out to bring the first Harry Potter novel to life in a new way. There have been audiobooks of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Philosopher's Stone, and (of course) a movie based on it, but this time around, big names are reading t... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2020-05-05 16:59:45 UTC ]
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Stars including Daniel Radcliffe, Stephen Fry, and Eddie Redmayne are recording videos of themselves reading the first Harry Potter book in the latest addition to Harry Potter at Home. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-05-05 15:10:11 UTC ]
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The two major educational publishers announced an all-stock merger a year ago, but ran into regulatory issues and criticism around market dominance and pricing. The post Cengage Announces a Termination of Its McGraw-Hill Merger Agreement appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-05-04 13:19:39 UTC ]
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“Mum” and “Phantom Thread” star Lesley Manville will narrate the audiobook of Richard Osman's forthcoming novel, The Thursday Murder Club. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-05-01 14:43:02 UTC ]
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Itching for a great audiobook that's on the shorter side? Here are four under four hours long. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-05-01 10:40:12 UTC ]
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Even if social distancing has helped you to achieve the nigh impossible task of watching your entire Netflix queue, there’s still a trove of media to consume. Sonos has teamed up with OverDrive -- makers of the audiobook lending app Libby -- to let c... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2020-04-30 14:37:36 UTC ]
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Did you grow up with the Boy Who Lived? You can re-read the series or you can check out these books like Harry Potter for adults. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-04-29 10:32:45 UTC ]
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