A writer pal of mine is enthusing about Audio Books. 

Evidently, they are easy enough to put together, if you can find good
speakers - which I can through my Thespian contacts.

However, I am dubious about the marketing angles; the ease
with which they can be ripped off; and which genres are likely winners and losers.

What do you reckon?

For example: Would you invest YOUR time and money in such a venture?

Many thanks

Bryan

Bryan,

I have been fond of audiobooks for many decades. In the 1980s, my
brother suffered from a degenerative neurological condition which
affected his eyesight but not his intellect. Had it not been for
recorded books, he would have had little to keep his mind alive. I
borrowed some of his books on tape, and (although my own eyesight was,
at that time, adequate) I enjoyed them immensely.

Since my brother's death, I have purchased, borrowed, and downloaded
dozens of audiobooks on cassette, on CD, and in digital MP-3 format.
I'm a devotee of the concept, and I would not hesitate to invest in
the production of audiobooks (if my budget were such that I could
consider investing in anything).

I've rounded up some info for you. Apparently the trend is toward a
younger and hipper audience. MP3-format CDs and downloads to personal
digital devices are boosting sales.

"This report reviews the developments that have taken place in the UK
books market since Mintel?s last report in June 2003. Mintel estimates
the total value of the book market in 2004 (including all
institutional sales) to be worth £3.6 billion, with further growth
expected during 2005, to reach a total value of £3.7 billion. Sales of
audiobooks in 2005 are estimated to be worth £72 million. The role of
the novel has evolved to become a key determinant leading to the
buoyant growth of consumer titles. While discounting has helped boost
frequency of purchase, volume growth has eclipsed value growth."

Market Research: Books - UK
http://www.marketresearch.com/map/prod/1119513.html 

"There are 7.3 million MP3 players in Britain, and the under-40s now
account for most sales of audiobooks... The future of the industry is
in downloads to MP3 players, iPods, etc. A recent survey of young
people in America found that many people were dispensing with
traditional media altogether in favour of downloadable audiobooks and
music.

BBC Audiobooks has 1,000 titles available to download and believes
that its digital book business will double every 12 months for the
next few years. The BBC said: 'The market for audiobooks on CD is not
necessarily a growing market. But downloads are growing massively. We
have found new audiences for our titles through the downloadable
audience.'...

Although the audiobook charts are dominated by well-known voices
reading bestsellers, the relatively small cost of turning a book into
a digital audio file could encourage publishers to showcase their
smaller titles."

Times Online: Click here for a really novel way to enjoy a book
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,923-2160470,00.html

"Sales of audio books for beach and poolside are soaring and the UK
publishing industry is about to be hit by the same revolution that has
overhauled the music world - the iPod-friendly download... The audio
market is now worth more than £70m annually and continues to expand
thanks to increased demand in the summer months.

New figures show sales of audio books from July to September last year
shot up by 40 per cent compared with the same quarter in 2003.
Waterstone's, one of the biggest high-street retailers of audio books,
reports sales of their spoken-word summer choices up 35 per cent so
far this year... Listeners have embraced more challenging reads and
classics that they had not managed in their usual reading schedules.
Joyce's Ulysses was an audio top seller last year, as were Tolstoy's
War and Peace, Daphne Du Maurier's Rebecca and Charlotte Brontė's Jane
Eyre.

Joel Rickett, deputy editor of the publishing industry magazine The
Bookseller, said: 'Many people going on holiday want something for the
beach or the flight but they don't want to have to cart it around all
the time they are away. The holiday audio book is definitely a growth
market.'

Audio books were originally aimed at an older market whose eyesight
was less sharp, and more mature reads such as Agatha Christie books
remain popular. But there are moves to lower the age profile with
hipper titles, celebrity readers and efforts to bring out audio
versions close to the print publication date.

The biggest innovation for the technology friendly will be a move to
downloading to personal digital devices such as iPods and other MP3
players. This month sees the UK launch of online retailer Audible, a
major player in the US.

Publishers here are already looking to the download market. BBC Audio
Books, the market leader, which issues about 80 new titles each year,
puts out a number of releases on CD but with the information stored in
MP3 form, making it easier to switch to a portable player and allowing
more material to be stored on fewer discs.

The BBC is looking at the techno-bloke market by making versions of
Jack Kerouac's On the Road read by Matt Dillon, Nick Hornby's Fever
Pitch and Pompeii by Robert Harris available as MP3 CDs.

A spokeswoman said: "Downloading is going to make a huge difference to
the market. It could do for audio books what it did for the music
business."

Cinema Blend Forum: Audio Books
http://www.cinemablend.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-19307.html

"With the growth of broadband access having reached critical mass, we
anticipate the popularity of audiobook downloads to grow
exponentially,' said Jeffrey Dittus, CEO of MediaBay. 'Currently, in
an $800 million market that has increased 10 per cent per year since
1989, sales of audiobooks should exceed $1.1 billion by 2008'...
 
Recent research conducted by the Audio Publishers Association shows
that 70 per cent of audiobook users listen to them in their cars or on
portable devices."

UK Business News: MSN and MediaBay launch new Audiobooks service
http://www.ukbusiness-news.co.uk/business-news/index.html?story=0006085060

My Google search strategy:

Google Web Search: "sales of audiobooks" OR "sales of audio books" uk
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22sales+of+audiobooks%22+OR+%22sales+of+audio+books%22+uk

Here's a great list of "The Intellectual's Top Audiobooks on CD Disk":

Amazon: So you'd like to... Buy the Best Audiobooks in Circulation
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/guides/guide-display/-/YCJI71DU3MDW/ref=3/002-0782171-0408056

My favorite audiobook of all time is "James Earl Jones Reads the
Bible." If any human voice can evoke the awe and majesty of the
Almighty, it is the powerful (yet gentle) voice of James Earl Jones.
When I get to Heaven, I fully expect that the Lord's voice will sound
very much like this.

My current passion is "The John Cheever Audio Collection," an
immensely entertaining audiobook of masterful short stories read by
wonderful narrators. This is an ideal audiobook for someone who wants
to listen now and then, for brief periods of time. If listening to
entire novels isn't your thing, give the Cheever collection a try.
"The Sorrows of Gin," read by Meryl Streep, is worth the price all on
its own.

Thank you for asking me to answer this. The subject is of great
interest to me, and it's always a pleasure to be able to promote
anything related to books.

Best always,
Pink

---

Clarification of Answer by pinkfreud-ga on 06 Jul 2006 13:54 PDT

Here's some info regarding the prevention of piracy:

"Most audio book downloads have some type of digital rights management
built in. This is done by using a file format that puts a digital
'lock' on a file to control the number of times or ways a file can be
played or copied. For example, Audible.com (www.audible.com), a
well-known audio book download site, protects its digital audio books
by using its own proprietary format, although the books can still be
played on a wide variety of devices, including iPods, MP3 players and
some telephones...

Audiofy (www.audiofy.com) is an interesting solution, since you simply
buy audiobook 'chips' (electronic memory cards similar to the cards
used in digital cameras) that have audio books loaded. Listeners can
put the chips into any computer that has a memory card reader, or into
P.D.A.'s or handhelds like the palmOne Zire that support SD memory, or
use a small, custom Audiofy player ($29.95 at www.audiofy.com). For
computers that don't have card readers, adapters are available for
about $3.95."

New York Times: New Audio Books Pack a Lot More Prose 
http://travel2.nytimes.com/2006/05/14/travel/14prac.html

---

Clarification of Answer by pinkfreud-ga on 06 Jul 2006 14:01 PDT

Some information concerning the market for audiobooks in the UK:

"Sales total 5.6m units, of which 3.8m are adult and 1.8m are
children's - this is an increase of 1.1m units compared with last
year's total. Adult turnover is split as to £37.4m for abridged titles
and £12.2m for unabridged, while children's turnover is split £9.9m
for abridged titles and £9.2m for unabridged - this represents
increases of 9% for adult abridged titles and 3.4% for adult
unabridged titles, and a huge 50% increase for children's abridged
titles.

Total cassette sales were £33.4m and CD sales were £35.2m, with unit
sales of cassettes totaling 3.2m units and unit sales of CDs totaling
2.4m units - compared with 2003/2004 cassette sales of £42.3m and CD
sales of £27.7m. CDs have now outsold cassettes (in terms of sales
value) for the first time."

Audiobook Publishing Association
http://www.theapa.net/figures20042005.htm

Perfection!

Very Many Thanks. Pink Lady, Exactly what I was hoping for.

All the Best

Bryan

"The 1000 Greatest Photographs of All Time" would make a lousy
audiobook.  You'd need 1,000,000 words.

At least their would be no problems with the spelling.
(and yes, I did run this through the spell checker, so their)
Kemlo

I have listened to "Deltora Quest" on Audio Book and thought it was great.
My son was too young to read the books and my voice would go after a while.
Audio Books are fantastic!

I've never tried audio books but, after reading Bryan's interesting
question, I'm thinking of giving them a try...

I'm thinking that by listening to an audio book, narrated by a
softspoken female while I am cosily snuggled in my bed, would invoke
memories of my mommy reading me a bedtime story when I was a child :)

Steph53

Bryan,

Thank you for the five stars and the amazing tip! Both are much appreciated. 

~Pink