Audible for Business Brings Bulk Audiobooks to Workplace and Beyond - Press Release

Going on a Book Tour?

Here's a press release Panzer found at the Audible site.

 

 The press release is about the new Audible for Business feature. In addition to being for use in the business workplace, the feature can also be used by authors and publishers on book tours.

 

 Panzer says, "The press release explains about Audible for Business and has a link for more informations."

 

Note: This is a medium length post. Bring a glass of iced tea 

 

To read the post tootle over to Audible for Business 

Audible's Manhattan Pop-Up Makes Audiobooks Social - Publishers Daily

It's an interesting concept for audiobooks.

Here's a post Panzer found at the Publishers Daily site.

 

An Audible Story House pop-up store opened in Manhattan. Inside the store to help make buying choices customers can listen to audiobooks, get help from sales personnel, or buy tickets to listen to authors and others programs at the store.

 

Panzer says, "There's even a cafe."

 

Note: This is a long-medium length post. Bring a cup of tea and a muffin to snack on,

 

To read the post tootle over to Audible Manhattan Pop-up

Audible's New Royalty Model - ACX

That's it. I'm finished for the day.

Panzer made a stop at the ACX site. There our kitty pilot discovered a post about Audible's new royalty model. 

 

According to the post, the current royalty system will be discontinued at the end of the year. There's a long section of questions and answers.

 

 Panzer says, "You'll need to enroll your material in the new model."

 

 Note: This is a long post. You'll need to decide what you want to snack on.

 

To read the post tootle over to Audible 

Audible Now Let's You Read Along With Your Kindle Books - Publishers Weekly

Isn't it confusing to do that?

On his way home Panzer stopped at the Publishers Weekly site.

 

There he found Ed Nawotka's post about Audible's new feature to read a book as you listen to it. 

 

Panzer says,"It does mean more sales if the listener wants to do both."

 

Note:This is either a short-medium length or long-short length post (your choice which). Bring a cup of tea to drink.

 

To read the post tootle over to Audible 

Audible Expands Catalog with AI Narration and Translation Services - Publishers Weekly

It's not a surprise They've been testing it for a while.

Today Panzer found a post at the Publishers Weekly site about Audible's new AI narration service.

 

The post by Ed Nawotka is an indepth look at Audible's acceptance of AI narration. Audible announced they now offer AI narrations services and will add translation later this year.

 

Panzer says, "You'll want to read this post."

 

 Note: This is a very, very long post. In addition to the AI narration announcement, it also has information about Audible's history in the audio book market.

 

To read the post tootle over to Audible

London Book Fair: An Audiobook Update From Audible - Publishing Perspectives

Scammers have voice cloned for awhile now.

Today, Panzer went to the Publishing Perspectives site where he found a post about Audible's presentation at the London Book Fair.

 

Porter Anderson's post covers a wide range of information from Audible. It covers ACX audiobook generation, audiobook readership, Audible subscriber numbers, and information on AI generated audiobooks. The post also includes links to other information.

 

Panzer says, "This little kitty found the most interesting part of the post was about narrator voice cloning."

 

Note:This is a long post. You'll need to decide what to bring to snack on while you read.

 

To read the post tootle over to Audible

Kristin Lana Named Head of Global Audible Book Aquisition - Publishers Weekly

It's been a hard week here.

Here's a press release Panzer found at the Publishers Weekly site.

 

Panzer says, "The headline gives most of the information you'll find in the press release."

 

Note: The press release is very, very short. You won't need anything to snack on while you read it.

 

To read the post tootle over to Audible

Listen up! Why 2024 was the year of the audiobook - The Guardian

Can you tell I like audiobooks?

Today, Panzer's trip in the Catosphere took him to The Guardian site. There he discovered a post about audiobooks.

The post by Ellen Peirson-Hagger explains about audiobooks increase in sales and acceptance in 2024. There's also references to Spotify and Audible's audiobook competition and the entrance of AI into the audiobook market.

 

Panzer says, "If you visit here on Friday and Saturday, you must like romance and cozy mystery audiobooks."

Note: This is a long-medium length post. Bring a cup of tea and a muffin to snack on while you read.

To read the post tootle over to audiobooks

Coming Soon to ACX: A new royalty model and more opportunities to earn - ACX Blog

Interesting royalty split.

Today's trip into the Catosphere took Panzer to the ACX Blog site. There he found a news release about opportunities for creators to earn more royalties at ACX.

 

According to the post ACX has invited a group of creators to begin using the company's new program. The post explains the new royalty rates, the new way to generate sales, and new sales programs to join. There's link to join the waiting list for the next opening for enrollees.

 

Panzer says, "If you plan to use ACX, this is worth looking into."

 

Note:This is a short post. Bring a cup of tea for today's reading selection.

 

To read the post tootle over to ACX

Audible Cuts 5% of It's Staff - Publishers Weekly

Today's trip into the Catosphere took Panzer to the Publishers Weekly site. There our illustrious kitty boy found a post about Audible.

 

They're already slow getting the audiobooks uploaded.

According to the post by Jim Milliot, Audible is laying off approximately 100 employees. CEO Bob Carrigan said in a memo to employees the company needs to be more efficient to compete in the audiobook world.

 

Panzer says, "Hmm ... That sounds like less employees doing the work of more employees and doing it faster.".

 

Note: This is a short-medium length post. Bring a cup of tea for today's reading selection.

 

To read the post tootle over to Audible

Audible's Virtual Voice is Flooding the Market - Brian's Book Blog *

Today's trip into the Catosphere took Panzer to the Brian's Book Blog site. There our inquisitive kitty boy found a post about the Beta Audible/Amazon Virtual Voice feature.

It's free to do; so, of course, writers are doing it.

The post covers the huge number of AI narrated books being uploaded to Audible in the different genres. The post doesn't address the quality of the narration but, instead, the sheer number of books uploaded. It also points out that there is no way to filter the AI narrated books from a reader's book searches. For example, if you're looking for a cozy mystery audiobook, you'll get AI narrated books included with human narrated books and may find your search inundated with the AI books. The post also includes a Comment Section at the end worth reading as well. (In that section a poster says you must be in KDP Select to use the Virtual Voice feature.)

 

Panzer says, "This little kitty learned about the feature a few days ago on YouTube. Some videos are posted there explaining how to do the AI narration and upload your book to Audible."

 

 Note: This is a long post. Bring a cup of tea and a muffin to munch on while you read the post.

 

To read the post tootle over to Audible's Virtual Voice

 

 

 

* A tip of the kitty fedora to Nate Hoffelder's blog Monday Morning Coffee for the original link to the post.

UK and Australia:Spotify Opens 'Audiobooks in Premium' - Publishing Perspectives

Panzer was shaken from his afternoon nap by clapping and cheering coming from the Catosphere. Hopping in the Panzermobile, our brave kitty boy followed all the commotion to the Publishing Perspectives site. There he discovered a post about Spotify and audiobooks.

This will be interesting to watch.

According to Porter Anderson's post, Spotify has announced the opening of the company's 'Audiobooks in Premium' feature in the UK and Australia. Spotify Premium holders there will now have 15 hours of audiobook reading time each month. Spotify plans to have the feature available in the US later this year.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... This little kitty wonders what Audible will do about this."

Note: This is a long post. Bring a cup of tea and a muffin for today's reading selection.

To read the post tootle over to Spotify Premium

Audible Letter Petition - The Authors Guild

Today as Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere he made a stop at the Authors Guild site. There our traveling kitty boy found a letter The Authors Guild plans to send to Audible-ACX. Panzer told you about Audible's membership program that touts the return and exchange of authors' audio books.

 

The Authors Guild letter lays out all the reasons the return/exchange program is unfair to authors and the narrators of their audio books. The Authors Guild is soliciting authors and their supporters' signatures on the letter. The Guild would like to collect 25,000 signatures.

 

Please help.

Panzer says, "It might seem like you're saving yourself money by returning and/or exchanging an audio book, but you're really costing the audio book author and the narrator money when you do it."

 

Note: It's a medium length letter. Bring a cup of tea to drink while you read it.

 

To read the full letter and add your name, tootle over to Letter to Audible

To read Panzer's previous post tootle over to #Audiblegate

#Audiblegate: How Audible-ACX Returns Policy Penalizes Authors - Writer Beware

As Panzer entered the Catosphere today the Panzermobile was suddenly violently shaken about by the crying and gnashing of teeth outside. Following all the chaos, took our brave kitty boy to the Writer Beware site. There he found a post about Audible's ebook return policy. Panzer told you about this situation in a post last week.

 

According to the post by Victoria Strauss, Audible has been using an audio books return policy without alerting authors to it. While some authors suspected their audio book sales didn't make sense, it wasn't until a computer glitch a couple of months ago brought Audible's return program to light. Audible members can listen to an audio book (either partially or totally) and then return it and exchange it for another audio book for no extra charge. The author, meanwhile, loses the royalty for the sale because it was returned. In Audible-ACX's Premium Plus program this is actively promoted as a benefit of the program. Since learning about the returns policy, some authors have gone so far as to get Audible memberships to test the program. They did this to see if there is any number of returns at which point a member will lose this return benefit. The answer: No. And it's not just the authors' losing out on the royalties. Narrators who didn't get paid up front, are losing on the returns to. There are several links to other sites, YouTube and Twitter for more information by authors about this return policy.

 

It really stinks over there.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... Author sites? ... YouTube? ... Twitter? ... That is one big steaming pile of you-know-what Audible stepped in."

 

Note: This is a h-u-g-e post. Bring a thermos of tea and twelve muffins for today's reading selection. If you plan to follow all the links in the post, bring another thermos of tea, a thermos of hot cocoa, another twelve muffins, ten chocolate chip cookies (biscuits), and six brownies. Oh, you will also want to bring your sleeping bag for a nap in the middle of all your reading.

 

To read the post tootle over to #Audiblegate

To read Panzer previous post about #Audiblegate (although, if you follow all the links in the Writer Beware post you don't need to) tootle over to Audible exchange policy

 

Writers Groups Protest Audible Exchange Policy - Publishers Weekly

 Today Panzer was just finishing his afternoon nap when his kitty bed was shaken violently by noises coming from the Catosphere. Hopping in the Panzermobile, our brave kitty boy headed into the maelstrom of crying and shouting. Following the chaos took him to the Publishers Weekly site. There he discovered the cause of the problems was a post about Audible.

You know, sneaky always gets caught.

According to the post by Jim Milliot, Audible and Audiobook Creation Exchange (ACX) now have as part of the company's Audible Premium Plus membership benefits, members can purchase an audiobook, listen to it, return it within 365 days, and then exchange it for another audiobook. When the audiobook is returned for the exchange, the royalties for the sale are removed from the author's royalties account. Audible began doing this without notifying the authors what the company was doing or why. When writers discovered what Audible was doing, they contacted the Authors Guild. The Authors Guild and other writers groups are in the process of collecting signatures on a letter protesting what Audible is doing. The letter likens the new process to Audible having a rental or subscription service. Audible has now backtracked a little and says the company won't deduct royalties for books returned after 7 days. This, however, won't become effective until January 1, 2021.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... Seems like Audible has stepped in a big pile of you know what."

Note: This is a l-o-n-g post. Bring a cup of tea and two muffins for today's reading selection.

To read the post tootle over to Audible exchange policy

Audible Rolls Out Lower-priced Subscription Plan - Publishers Weekly

Didn't take long for that to happen.

Today Panzer's afternoon nap was interrupted by clapping and cheering coming from the Catosphere. Hopping into the Panzermobile, our adventuresome kitty followed all the jocularity to the Publishers Weekly site. With hardly any digging at all he found a post about Audible's new subscription plan was causing all the excitement.

According to the post by Shannon Maughan, Amazon's Aubible announced the implementation of a new subscription service. The new plan is called Audible Plus. For $7.95 per month it will give subscribers access to Audible Originals, podcasts and audiobooks developed by Audible. Audible's $14.95 per month subscription plan will remain but will be renamed Audible Premium Plus.

Panzer says, "Yesterday's post was about Spotify coming to the U.S. with an audio book subscription service. Guess Amazon's Audible already knew about that."

Note: This is a medium length post. Bring a cup of tea and two chocolate chip cookies (biscuits) for today's reading selection.

To read the post tootle over to Audible subscription plan

Spotify's move into audiobooks is a seismic shift in the publishing landscape, but the ripples will take time to be felt - The New Publishing Standard

As Panzer entered the Catosphere today, the Panzermobile was violently shaken by oohhing and aahhing coming from outside. Following all the noise took our brave kitty boy to The New Publishing Standard site. There he found a post about Spotify and audio books.

This could get really interesting.

According to Mark Williams post, Spotify is getting ready to start an audio book subscription service in the U.S. similar to its music service. The company is advertising for an "executive to join the Spotify Studios team" with  experience in audio books. There doesn't appear to be a specific timeline for the rollout of the new service. Obviously,  Spotify's audio book service would be in direct competition with Amazon's Audible. There are several links included in the post to other information about Spotify, the company's podcast service, the company's music service, audio book services in general, and other topics.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... This little kitty wants to know if Spotify can do for audio books what it did for music."

Note: This is a humongous post. Bring a thermos of lemonade, three muffins and three brownies. If you plan to follow the links in the post, bring a gallon of tea, six chocolate chip cookies (biscuits), three more muffins, your lunch in case you're still hungry, and your sleeping bag if you need a nap when you finish reading. (You have been warned. There is a lot of information in this post and the links.)

To read the post tootle over to Spotify and audiobooks

Trouble in Audible - Indies Unlimited

Today as Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere, the Panzermobile was suddenly buffeted by ranting and crying coming from outside. Following all the hullabaloo took our intrepid kitty boy to the Indies Unlimited site. There with no digging at all in the posts he found one about changes to Audible.

You scammer guys know it's stealing, right?

According to the post by Melissa Bowersock, scammers have taken up residence on Amazon's Audible. Amazon's audio book producer ACX has been letting authors and narrators of audio books give away free promo codes so listeners could get their audio books for free. Audible would then give the authors and narrators royalties on those free downloads as if they were bought downloads. Recently scammers have entered the market putting up "fake" audio books and using the free promo codes to game the system and get unearned royalties. ACX and Audible have now done away with the free promo code royalty system. Legitimate audio book authors and narrators are the ones being punished for what the scammers have been doing.

Panzer says, "Those scammer guys can't leave a good thing alone. They just have to ruin it for everybody else."

Note: This is a long-medium length post. Bring a cup of tea and a muffin for today's reading selection.

To read the post tootle over to Audible

Free Audible Audiobooks During Covid-19 Outbreak

They can read a story to me.

Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere when he heard clapping and cheering outside the Panzermobile. It's been a while since he's heard anything happy so he decided to follow the jocularity. Our inquisitive kitty boy discovered it was at the Audible site.

Audible is making some children's, young adult and classic audio books available for free. The audio stories will be free as long as schools are closed due to the coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak. The audios are available in six languages, including English, French, German, Italian and two more. There's no signup needed. Just find an audio book you like, click on it and click to listen. So, if you're looking for entertainment for your children or yourself (if you like the classics), here's your chance.

To listen to the Audible audio books tootle over to Free Audible

Settlement Terms Revealed (Mostly) in Audible Captions Litigation - Publishers Weekly

Only thing hidden is the money.

Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere when he decided to make a quick stop at the Publishers Weekly site. He's really happy he did, because the big news is the settlement in the Audible Captions case.

According to Andrew Albanese, Judge Caproni has agreed to accept the lawsuit agreement between Audible and the seven original publishers and the Association of American Publishers (AAP). Judge Caproni wanted the two sides to agree on how much of the settlement would be unsealed. The unsealed portion of the document is how much the public gets to see. Now that the document is available, there doesn't appear to be anything in there which wasn't already known, except the amount Audible paid to the publishers and the AAP. There are several links included in the post.

Panzer says, "This little kitty was beginning to think the case would never be settled."

Note: This is a long post. Bring a cup of tea and three muffins for today's reading. If you plan to follow all the links, bring a thermos of tea and twelve muffins.

To read the post tootle over to Audible Captions