The Fastest Growing Format in Publishing: Audiobooks - The Wall Street Journal

Panzer's trip into the Catosphere today took him to The Wall Street Journal site. There our adventuresome kitty reporter found a post about audiobooks.

According to the post by Jennifer Maloney, audiobook sales are skyrocketing in the United States and Canada. Combined their sales of audiobooks are up 21 percent in 2015 over 2014. Smartphone users are a big driver behind the sales, especially with the availability of cars with built-in Smartphone connection capabilities. The availability of audiobooks through subscription services like Scribd also help propel sales as well. The post includes a lot of information about audiobooks with quotes, statistics and numbers.

I can do that. I have a good voice.

Panzer says, "Hmmm ... Maybe I need to do an audiobook of Cat Wisdom for Humans."

Note: This is a h-u-m-u-n-g-o-u-s post. Bring two thermoses of tea, two dozen muffins and a sleeping bag (for a nap in the middle).

To read the post, tootle over to audiobooks

Audible, long known only for audiobooks, is branching out into podcasts - and news - NiemanLab

On Panzer's trip in the Catosphere today, he visited, NiemanLab, a site he's never been to before. It didn't take any digging at all to find a post about the audio book marketing site Audible.

I want answers.

A post there by Shan Wang says Amazon's audio book arm Audible has added a section called "Channels." It contains selected news podcasts and other features. There are podcasts of material from The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. It's currently available on both iOS and Android. Right now it's only available to Audible "Beta Tester" members. After beta testing, it will be available to Audible members.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... This inquiring kitty wants to know: Is Audible going to try to go against iTunes? Or will they only feature their own produced podcasts?"

Note: This is a h-u-g-e post. You'll need a thermos of tea and two muffins.

To read the post, tootle over to Audible

Barnes & Noble Chairman Creates TV Ad With Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga - The Wall Street Journal

Today Panzer made a trip to The Wall Street Journal site. After some digging around, our adventurous kitty boy found some news about Barnes and Noble in a post by Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg there.

Hmmm ... shopping time already.

According to Mr. Trachtenberg's post, Barnes and Noble Chairman Leonard Riggio is back helping the book store chain get started in the holiday shopping arena. Mr. Riggio has started Barnes and Noble's launch into the holiday season sales market with a TV commercial featuring performers Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga. The two are gift shopping for each other in one of the chain's bricks and mortar stores. This marks Mr. Riggio's first hands on work with the company in a decade. The post has interesting facts about how Mr. Riggio actually put the commercial and the performers together. Also included is information about his past involvement with the company.

Panzer says, "Are you ready to start your holiday shopping? You know ... they do have other books besides mine that you might like."

Note: This is a v-e-r-y l-o-n-g post, so bring a v-e-r-y l-a-r-g-e cup of tea.

To read the post, tootle over to Barnes and Noble chairman