The Bookseller.com

20th November 2008

Publishers mull Audible deal

07.02.08 Tom Tivnan

Audiobook publishers have broadly welcomed Amazon’s multi-million-dollar acquisition of Audible, but raised concerns about lack of competition in the download market.

Amazon snapped up Audible last week in a deal worth around $300m (£150m). The acquisition, which includes Audible.co.uk, is expected to close in the second quarter of 2008, subject to regulatory approval.

Audible.co.uk has around 50,000 hours of spoken-word material available through its own store and its exclusive deal with iTunes, which accounts for around 33% of its revenues. It has deals in place with over 250 content providers.

Paul Dempsey, director of BBC Audiobooks, was positive about the merger, with audiobooks poised to benefit from the “injection of energy” the move could give the sector. But he added: “We would still prefer it if there was more competition in the market. I think as publishers we should encourage competitors such as eMusic and audioVille.”

The merger could put Audible’s partnership with Waterstone’s, which enables users to download Audible titles from the Waterstone’s website, into jeopardy. Also thrown into question is whether Amazon will continue with its recent move into DRM-free downloads on Amazon.com. The company had been considering rolling out mp3 downloads on other sites, including Amazon.co.uk, over the next two years. Audible exclusively sells downloads with DRM.

Naxos AudioBooks publisher Nicolas Soames said: “Amazon’s hand could have been forced by the DRM versus MP3 issue. Perhaps they have found in the US that more publishers were simply not prepared to offer downloads without DRM.”

Jo Forshaw, chair of the Audiobook Publishing Association, said ultimately the Amazon/Audible combination would “put the welly” behind the audiobooks sector. She said: “My only concern is that there will now be a massive push towards downloads. I think we shouldn’t kill off the CD yet, there are still a lot of legs in it.”

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