Downpour may not be a household name when it comes to audiobooks, but their business model is fairly compelling. They rent audiobooks at a fraction of the cost of true ownership and they also sell them DRM free. The company currently has a catalog of 8,000 titles for rent and 30,000 for purchase. Now is the best time to check these guys out because they are offering 70% off everything on their website.
The Black Friday program Downpour is currently running expires December 3rd, so there is plenty of time to get familiar with their Android or iOS apps. These apps are necessary if you rent audiobooks, because they expire whenever you have finished listening to them. When you purchase them straight up though, you have a massive amount of freedom to use your favorite audio player.
Audiobooks for the most part are fairly expensive, often costing $34.99 for something issued by a major publisher. The 70% savings are quite profound because you are basically paying e-book prices.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
