The Bookseller.com

4th July 2009

Audible defends discounting

24.07.08 Catherine Neilan

Audible UK is standing by its business model and the level of discounts it demands, despite a number of audiobook publishers claiming they have been embroiled in long-term negotiations with the download specialist over unfavourable terms.

Certain publishers have argued that they accepted the high initial discounts Audible demanded as covering costs during the early stages of Audible's existence, and while the proportion of revenue from downloads was relatively small. But, as the medium grows in popularity, firms are increasingly calling for the business to rethink its remuneration structure.

Nicolas Soames, publisher at Naxos Audiobooks, said: "The bottom line is we both want to work together. However, the issue over terms is extremely difficult, because if the audiobook market does go considerably towards downloads, it simply will not be economic to make recordings."

Soames claimed Audible demanded "ridiculously high discounts", which made it difficult for publishers, agents and authors. He added: "We're all very glad they are here; they do a wonderful job, but these discounts are really insensible."

Nick Jones, m.d. at audio-book production specialist Strathmore Publishing, agreed. "Audible is seen as a good thing because it is raising awareness," he said. "The concern is over the perception of what is a fair price for audio—when publishers have stopped raiding backlists, it will not be viable to provide new material."

But Chris McKee, m.d. of Audible UK, said the complaints only came from a small number of companies. "We have a business model that fits with more than 600 publishers worldwide—we're not planning on changing it," he said. "What people have to do is change their thinking around the business model. They should stop thinking about the supply chain on CDs, and making abridgements or using expensive actors. In the digital world, there is the opportunity to create content at lower costs, sell it over a much longer time, and be very profitable. The audiobook community needs to look outside of itself to respond to what consumers want."

He added that Audible was central to establishing audiobooks as mainstream and, as a result, boosting the industry's sales. "Every day we are trying to get new people who hadn't used audiobooks before to start," he said. "We are evangelising."

Audio amazon Audible Home audiobooks Catherine Neilan Nicolas Soames Naxos Audiobooks Chris McKee Nick Jones

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