Waze is a very popular mapping app for Android and iOS. You can easily get driving directions and when you need to make turns. The company has just announced Audible integration, so drivers can listen to audiobooks and podcasts. Members can access to over 600,000 Audible Originals and a ton of other content.Audible members can listen on Waze by simply opening the Waze app … [Read more...] about Waze can now stream Audible Audiobooks when driving
Audiobook News
New interactive audiobooks are the latest innovation
Audiobooks are all about listening to someone else reading aloud the book for you. That is nice and offers an immersive feel to comprehending a book. Things seem set for a change though, what with publishers finding newer ways to engage with their readers via audiobooks that also serve as sort of a guide as well.Take for instance the audiobook 'Seeds from Scratch' where the … [Read more...] about New interactive audiobooks are the latest innovation
Spotify now has audiobooks on their platform
Spotify is going beyond music and experimenting with hosting digital audiobooks. The new section is available now and is called Audiobooks: Hear the Classics. All of the content are apart of the public domain and include titles such as David Dobrik narrating Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein; Forest Whitaker reading Frederick Douglass’ memoir Narrative of the Life of Frederick … [Read more...] about Spotify now has audiobooks on their platform
ebook sales were up 5.1% in November 2020
Ebook revenues were up 5.1% in November 2020 as compared to November of 2019 and the format generated $87.9 million. On a year-to-date basis, ebooks were up 15.2%, coming in at $1.0 billion for the first eleven months of 2020. Digital audiobooks broke the long-standing trend of seeing continuous growth every month since 2012, with a decline of 1.6% for the November, coming in … [Read more...] about ebook sales were up 5.1% in November 2020
Tencent Music consolidates its audio entertainment business with Lazy Audio acquisition
Tencent Music, a division of the China-based internet giant Tencent announced it has acquired Lazy Audio in a deal worth 2.7 billion yuan or $416 million. For the uninitiated, Lazy Audio is another Chinese entity that specializes in audio entertainment in the form of podcasts, audiobooks, and radio shows.The deal with help Tencent Music Entertainment Group (TME) further … [Read more...] about Tencent Music consolidates its audio entertainment business with Lazy Audio acquisition
Audible changes their terms for audiobook returns and royalties
Audible used to have a very liberal return policy, you could start a return and get a refund up to 365 days after the purchase. This created a huge problem for audiobook producers, authors or publishing companies. They would get the commission taking away from them, sometimes a year after a sale. This created a firestorm last year when the Authors Guild and Society of Authors … [Read more...] about Audible changes their terms for audiobook returns and royalties
Best audiobook apps of 2021
While reading a book has some kind of a romance to it that is unlike any, letting your ears do the reading has its own allure. Most are likely to have fond memories of listening to stories during bedtime which, at times, can be even more exciting than reading.Fortunately, technology has made it possible to relive that excitement anytime and anywhere with what has come to be … [Read more...] about Best audiobook apps of 2021
Google has released some free audiobooks using new TTS system
In early December Google announced a new initiative that would be available to publishers. It would convert ebooks to audiobooks using a combination of text-to-speech and WaveNet-based natural voices that can handle complex names, dates, times, and other text authentically. Customizations that range from pitch to speaking rate and volume gain are available in the Cloud TTS … [Read more...] about Google has released some free audiobooks using new TTS system
The Best AudioBooks to Enjoy on Your Kindle this Year
Since the advent of the Kindle, it was geared towards reading ebooks. This all changed a couple of years ago when the latest generation models shipped with Bluetooth support for wireless headphones. Amazon then added an Audible selection to the Kindle Store, so it is now possible to buy and listen to audiobooks right on the Kindle, instead of relying on smartphone apps. Here … [Read more...] about The Best AudioBooks to Enjoy on Your Kindle this Year
ebook sales in the US were up 20.4% in October
Digital book revenues were up 20.4% for the month as compared to October of 2019 for a total of $96.9 million. On a year-to-date basis, ebook sales were up 16.5%, generating $956.3 million for the first ten months of 2020. This format has seen tremendous growth this year, as thousands of bookstores were closed during the global pandemic and people started to buy ebooks online. … [Read more...] about ebook sales in the US were up 20.4% in October
Google is going to convert ebooks to audiobooks
Major publishers are releasing more audiobooks than ever before. It is a costly endeavor, so only the most popular ones will be professionally narrated, since the costs are so high. Google recognizes that many frontlist and backlist titles will never be converted to a proper audiobook and they have developed a beta system that will employ AI and auto generated narrators. This … [Read more...] about Google is going to convert ebooks to audiobooks
