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Audiobook publisher and retailer Audible is to release an audio original with bestselling non-fiction author Adam Kay in conversation with comedian Mark Watson. What Seems to be the Problem with Adam Kay and Mark Watson will be released exclusively in audio on 13th August 2019. The project was acquired by Audible from Alice Lutyens, head of original audio at Curtis Brown, with Audible producing and recording the product at its London studios.
The deal could spark a wave of such original projects as authors and agents look to audio as a way of supplementing incomes. Figures from the Publishers Association showed UK publisher receipts from traditional audiobook sales grew by 43%, to £69m, in 2018. But there is also growing demand for podcasts and original audio, with Rajar, the UK radio and audio measurement company, reporting that 12% of UK adults listen to podcasts weekly, with listeners skewed to 25–34-year-olds—a demographic publishers are keen on.
Aside from Audible, Spotify has recently acquired Gimlet Media (a narrative podcasting company) and Anchor (a podcast creation tool), and plans to spend $500m growing its non-music activity. Podcast platform Acast has recently appointed Clarissa Pabi as UK content manager to work with publishers to develop projects; while Orion brought in Alice Lloyd as commissioning editor for audio and podcasts, working aross its Trapeze list.
Lutyens, the audio specialist at Curtis Brown, says she is building a department at the agency to capitalise on demand. Her pitch to authors: "Look, it’s a shame that print sales are not what they used to be, but I have seen loads of examples where the audio of a non-fiction book will outsell the printed version, so let’s get ahead of the game and create some new material. It’s an unbelievably exciting time."
Outside of the Kay announcement, Lutyens points to four projects currently in development. Thriller writer David Hewson has created an audio original, Shooter in the Shadow, which is to be released by Audible next year; also coming from Audible this summer is a new podcast based on the BBC Three mockumentary “People Just
Do Nothing”, called The Kurupt FM Podkast; from production company Somethin’ Else and author Howard Sounes comes The Wests, a true crime podcast that will mine the historical tape recordings of interviews with the people involved in the Fred and Rose West murders; and London, Actually, a new comedy podcast from young comedian London Hughes, sold to Spotify on the back of one pilot episode, will launch in September.
Lutyens says she remains "highly frustrated" at big publishers’ attitude to audio rights, but says she is no longer at war with them over it, preferring instead to look to the audio originals market as a way of circumnavigating the situation. "Under no circumstances," says Lutyens, can a publisher claim ownership of a fresh project from a writer, even when the content is related to a successful book. "Obviously you can’t use direct material from the book—but it is about being respectful. A podcast is not taking away from a book, and a book is not taking away from a podcast."
As for the financial rewards, Lutyens says the deals have to be bespoke, with some based on revenue sharing (from advertising) and others paid upfront. "It’s a bit Wild West. We don’t know what this will look like in 10 years—will these projects hold their value, or be a flash in the pan?"
However as the economics develop, Lutyens says that she expects audio to increasingly take a lead, with the smart publishers and agents looking to audio-first as well as originals to grow their businesses. "The print market is getting harder and harder, but people still want the material, just differently. Publishers need to give each format equal consideration. Books already sometimes get published first in e-book, so why not audio? In a few years people will be looking at audio [as the way] to get into print."