Category: Audible

While Audible looks the other way, locked into Amazon’s roadmap, Poland’s Audioteka joins Storytel in Turkey, partners with Caffe Nero

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Audible, like CreateSpace, began life independently of Amazon, and by the time Amazon acquired them both, these two savvy publishing ventures had carved niches that, for the longest while, Amazon was happy to leave alone. Everyone was happy. But Audible, an ambitious, globally-minded operation, soon found that its international aspirations were beholden to Amazon’s roadmap. Read More …

Discount ebook deals mailing list BookBub finally adds audiobooks. Launches Chirp in partnership with Findaway

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One of the biggest gripes about Amazon’s ACX, the self-publishing arm of Audible and very much the go to place for indie authors to distribute their audiobooks, is that Amazon calls the shots on pricing. Among the many appeals of new kid on the block Findaway is that the author has a semblance of control. Read More …

Storytel prepares Germany launch, consolidating subscription as a serious challenger to the traditional publishing model

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It all seemed so implausible at the start of this decade. Ebooks had officially arrived, thanks to Amazon’s Kindle store breathing life into a format that had been around since long before. But it was just a digital extension of the status quo retail model. It was printed books on a screen, not remotely exploring digital’s Read More …

Brazil’s Ubook prepares IPO as Amazon launches Audible Latino, suggesting Audible Spain is still some way off

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Brazilian audiobook firm Ubook is preparing for an IPO in Canada that will value the company at anywhere from USD $8 – $15 million as CEO Flavio Osso looks to expand Ubook’s operations further into Europe. UPDATE: Flavio Osso points out that “The range from 8 to 15 million dollars is the the target amount Read More …

Amazon’s Audible says self-published ebooks and paperbacks are not evidence that an author has been published

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With the announcement in December that Amazon-owned Audible was sponsoring the prestigious Sunday Times Short Story Award came the prospect that the winners would not just earn some extra cash but would have their entries published as an audiobook that would reach a still wider audience. Which all sounds great. The Sunday Times Short Story Read More …

Italy’s Traduzione Libri becomes the latest casualty of Amazon’s CreateSpace shutdown. The hunt for a serious international POD operator is on

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Ever since the first hints were dropped that CreateSpace was not long for this world and indie authors would be shunted into KDP Print there has been a question mark over publishing books in foreign languages. While Amazon may seem to be a global player, actually it is no such thing, and much of its Read More …

Storytel launches in 14th market – Mexico – with 2,400 Spanish titles accessible across Latin America

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Storytel’s Mexico launch today comes with a surprise bonus. Full Latin America reach. When TNPS broke the news in the Anglophone industry media that Storytel was looking at the Latin America markets I noted Brazil, Argentina, Colombia and Mexico were frontrunners for Storytel’s LatAm expansion. Storytel’s Latin American ambitions. Brazil, Mexico, Argentina and Colombia for Read More …

Amazon finally launches Audible in India, almost a year after Storytel. Sticks to one audiobook subscription model against Storytel’s unlimited ebooks and audio

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Impossible to second-guess why this took so long – the expectation was early 2018 – but Amazon has finally launched a beta version of Audible in India, and it has stuck to its standard model despite an almost year long head start by rival Storytel. Sweden’s Storytel beats Amazon’s Audible to the India audiobook market Read More …

Nextory partners with Libreka to prepare a Germany launch, competing with BookBeat and Amazon. Storytel prefers the low-hanging fruit

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This is Storytel’s global reach as we start October 2018: Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Spain, India, United Arab Emirates, Turkey and Italy, with imminent launches in Bulgaria and Mexico, and a Brazil launch unconfirmed but looking likely. With the exception of Italy, none are countries where Amazon’s Audible is an active Read More …

The Week In Review

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Here’s a summary of TNPS posts from the past seven days. UK’s Bradford Lit Fest and USA’s Washington National Book Fest see record attendance Sharjah Publishing City sponsors Nigerian literature award Ireland: “A buoyant time for publishing.  One of today’s most vibrant book markets.” Sweden-based Arabic-language audiobook firm Kitab Sawti attracts new investment Peru exempts Read More …

As Storytel’s 2019 Asia expansion steps up with a Thailand office, TNPS speculates where next for Storytel

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Not content with its Latin America ambitions, with a Mexico launch set for December, and a Brazil launch looking likely in the New Year, Storytel has announced the next stage of its Asia expansion is underway. To start with it’s an office in Bangkok, which will be used to coordinate expansion across the continent as Read More …

Bonnier’s Bookbeat clocks 100,000 subscribers as growth continues, but UK publishers still aren’t interested

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A month ahead of schedule, Bookbeat, the audiobook and ebook subscription arm of the Swedish publishing giant Bonnier, has reached its milestone of 100,000 subscribers, reports Boktugg’s Sölve Dahlgren., who says the company is on target to to reach SEK 150 million ($17 million) in revenue for the full year 2018. Bookbeat CEO Niclas Sandin Read More …

Audible UK’s £150,000 deal with LAMDA means British publishers need to up their audiobook game

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The Bookseller breaks the news today that Amazon’s Audible UK has partnered with the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts (LAMDA) in a three year deal worth £150,000 ($195,000). Explains The Bookseller, The two organisations will develop the next generation of acting talent through scholarships and training opportunities in audio entertainment, while original audio Read More …

Russia’s LitRes sees 46% ebook growth as Storytel Russia grows. Subscription model has much to offer

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Russia’s ebook giant LitRes is seeing 46% growth this year as enthusiasm for the format grows, but overall ebooks are still just 6% of the Russian book marker, reports Eugene Gerden for Publishing Perspectives today. Russia’s Growing Ebook and Audiobook Sales in First Half of 2018 According to Gerden, LitRes says its ebook sales through Read More …

Storytel launches in Italy

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Storytel today goes live in its thirteenth market, as Italy joins hands with Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, the Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Spain, India, the United Arab Emirates and Turkey. Launches in Bulgaria and Mexico planned for later this year. Regulars here at TNPS will not be surprised by the Italy launch, which I first Read More …

Audible India to launch in November?

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Unconfirmed rumours in the Indian press suggest Amazon is readying its in-beta Audible India launch for November, to mark the India celebration of Diwali. If true the timeline will catch many by surprise. Amazon is believed to have started progressing Audible India in early 2017 and The Times of India reported Audible IN was widely Read More …

Storytel refinances to enable further expansion

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Storytel has, in accordance with EU regulations, announced its latest refinancing arrangement with Swedbank as it looks to further expansion. From the press release (July 7): Storytel has entered a new loan agreement with Swedbank today which involves the granting of a further 200 MSEK, of which 100 MSEK may be put to use immediately, Read More …

Storytel confirms Latin America ambitions. Mexico launch this year

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Storytel has confirmed its plans to launch in Latin America, with Mexico  first in line. As revealed here on TNPS a month ago, Storytel has been talking with publishers across Latin America – Storytel’s Latin American ambitions. Brazil, Mexico, Argentina and Colombia for 2019? and in an unusual move for Storytel it has made a Read More …

Storytel launches its own e-reader, prepares to change royalty structure, as Tellander reports a successful Q1

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Along with the Storytel Q1 2018 financial report today comes news that the Swedish audiobook company is about to elevate its ebook arm from a sideshow to mainstream. Storytel Reader is an e-reading device that will be launched in Sweden, Denmark and Finland shortly, with other Storytel markets to follow. Storytel CEO Jonas Tellander explained, Read More …

Storytel’s Latin American ambitions. Brazil, Mexico, Argentina and Colombia for 2019?

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With the Storytel Spain launch in 2017 it was really just a matter of time before Jonas Tellander’s attention turned to Latin America. Now it seems that time is upon us. With Iceland and UAE launched already this year, Turkey imminent, and Italy and Bulgaria both lined up, the promised five new Storytel countries for Read More …