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 ]
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The heads of the IBPA, IPC, and PubWest share insights on the challenges and opportunities for independent publishing. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-04-19 04:00:00 UTC ]
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The use of ElevenLabs' 'Projects' text-to-speech technology, HarperCollins says, can bolster its work in non-English-language audiobooks. The post HarperCollins Partners With ElevenLabs AI on Non-English Audiobooks appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2024-04-19 00:15:08 UTC ]
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The following is from Advocate: A Graphic Memoir of Family, Community, and the Fight for Environmental Justice by Eddie Ahn. _______________________________________________ Excerpted from Advocate: A Graphic Memoir of Family, Community, and the Fight for Environmental Justice, by Eddie Ahn;... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2024-04-17 08:54:48 UTC ]
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As Bologna Book Plus prepares to stage its first Audio Forum, Spotify's audiobook catalogue jumps from 200,000 t0 250,000 titles. The post Spotify Expands Its Premium Audiobooks Offer: Canada, Ireland, New Zealand appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2024-04-02 20:34:05 UTC ]
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Brooklyn agency Red Antler named Kiser Barnes as partner and chief creative officer to elevate the work of its client roster, expand its portfolio of global business partners and solidify the agency's creative reputation. Barnes comes to Red Antler from Digitas, where he... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2024-04-01 12:00:00 UTC ]
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The owner and operator of Tattered Cover bookstores, has filed a motion with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court to reschedule a hearing on its reorganization plan in order to allow the owners to entertain and review offers to purchase the business. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-04-01 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Hearst's Sheel Shah took the stage at the Digiday Publishing Summit to speak about why its marketplace business is focusing on authority. Continue reading at Digiday
[ Digiday | 2024-03-27 04:01:00 UTC ]
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The eight indie presses that made PW’s fast-growing list for 2023 thrived in a challenging business environment. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-03-22 04:00:00 UTC ]
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A shift of focus on libraries to retail channels and an aggressive acquisition of new titles—including, recently, works by John LeCarré and Jon Fosse—led to nearly $30 million in revenue in 2023, a 39% jump for the Ohio-based audiobook publisher. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-03-21 04:00:00 UTC ]
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When it came time for debut author Brent Underwood to record the audiobook for his book 'Ghost Town Living,' about the California mining town he calls home, he decided to build a makeshift studio in the long-abandoned silver mine at the heart of his story. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-03-14 04:00:00 UTC ]
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One of my duties every single day as an author, journalist, and constituent, is to read. I study the written word the way a football coach studies football games. I don’t read for pleasure just like a football coach doesn’t attend games to zone out. As much as I’d like to avoid it, I have […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2024-03-11 11:48:51 UTC ]
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Using clever camera methods, a new photo book illuminates how honeybees see plants and flowers. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2024-03-08 10:00:27 UTC ]
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BookLife talks with Renee Harleston, founder of Writing Diversely, about the value of sensitivity readers Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-03-08 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Revenue in 12 of 16 overseas book markets rose last year, even as unit sales fell, according to a new joint report from Nielsen/GFK Entertainment. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-03-08 05:00:00 UTC ]
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