827 Centuries of Audiobooks!

Don Katz from Audible Inc.

Don Katz,  founder and CEO of Audible, used to listen to audiobooks on his Walkman while jogging! I think it's amazing how we've come a long way in the way we listen to audiobooks, from gramophones to cassette tapes to CDs, to having a gigantic audio library in our itty bitty phones. We should really be grateful for the wide variety of choices available, as well as simply the ease of listening. I definitely take this for granted sometimes. Imagine having to load and unload cassette tapes, carrying around bulky contraptions, or having to flip CDs in and out mid-story. How annoying would that have to be!

On the other hand however, I think audiobooks have lost their physical identity. There's nothing to touch or hold in your hands, or showcase on your bookshelves, or collect. Sometimes I think of just printing out audiobook covers and putting them on empty CD cases, just so I can build my own 'fake' collection of audiobooks to look at! This might sound so silly, but it's true. But here's what scares me. The audiobook concept has become so tied up with technology, that as technology changes, so will inevitably the 'audiobook'. Videl Bar-Kar, audio publisher at Penguin Random House, said this in the article: "I’m not sure ‘audiobook’ is even the right word for it anymore. What is a book in the digital realm? I prefer ‘stories’." Audiobook listeners definitely need to brace themselves for changes coming in the future.  

And here's a little fun factoid they reveal in the article: in 2013, Audible subscribers all over the world collectively listened to 725 million hours of books. In other words, they say, imagine a device running audio for 827 centuries straight. Just think about that! More and more people are becoming audiobook converts, and that's wonderful news.

Read the article 'Sound and the story: The rise of the audiobook' from The Independent here.