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>Amazon, is to book publishing what Facebook and Google are to magazines Unfortunately, this is a very accurate analogy. I like listening to audio books and A

>Amazon, is to book publishing what Facebook and Google are to magazines Unfortunately, this is a very accurate analogy. I like listening to audio books and Audible is definitely very convenient, but I am 100% sure that in the not so distant future Amazon will completely destroy the whole publishing ecosystem in US and that will have horrendous effect on the quality of what is being written and on the availability of things to read. Audible is good, because it's not sustainable. It's good, because it benefits from the infrastructure that would not exist if books were created for audio instead of paper. If Audible get really popular, it will just become a centralized long-form podcast service. They're already edging that way with "originals". It's amazing that after seeing this process repeated again and again in the lat couple decades, people still can't predict when it starts to take pace in yet another industry. Technically, no one stops any book author from hiring a voice actor and then selling the result from their website directly. This doesn't require a middleman. Yet, how many authors do you know that actually do it?

ChildOfChaos 7y ago
I think Audible works though because of the monthly subscription and the fact people get credits a month in exchange for a book. This credit is purchased at a lot lower cost than paying for the book outright. But it's sold on the basis that people will stay subscribed and thus end up with books they wouldn't of otherwise bought as they are looking for something to spend their credit on this month. A different model than someone actually knowing the author, waiting for the release and then buying it directly from them. It's essentially free money for author/publisher so they are all rushing to the platform.
- max76 7y ago
  > But it's sold on the basis that people will stay subscribed and thus end up with books they wouldn't of otherwise bought as they are looking for something to spend their credit on this month. Why would someone feel pressure to use a credit? A person can have several extra credits at time. The credit system has a lot of advantages for Amazon, but time pressure isn't one of them.
  - lugg 7y ago
    Credits expire and there is a max of 6.
    - disiplus 7y ago
      it's 1 year from 2 April. I was thinking about canceling with the old policy but maybe not anymore. right now I have 3 unused credits.
  - asdfasgasdgasdg 7y ago
    It is, a little. You can't sustain a listening rate of less than nine books per year. That's because there are no plans that provide less than one credit per month, and you can only put your account on hold three months per year. I suppose you could bank extra credits indefinitely, but if you only want to read six books per year, then after two years you will have a year's worth of credits banked. After four years, you'll have two years worth of credits banked.
    - Jagat 7y ago
      There's a hidden 'silver' plan which is one credit every two months. The only way to get that is to talk to/chat with the customer service.
      - r00fus 7y ago
        Wow - I would totally benefit from that. I need to talk with them. I do like to re-listen to some really good classics so I'd rather not cancel my Audible sub.
        asdfasgasdgasdg 7y ago
        You don't lose your books when you cancel your sub. You just stop getting credits.
      - maaaats 7y ago
        I got it as an option when I tried to cancel. Went forward with the cancellation anyway, as I found it deceptive. Esepcially the part that canceling would lose all my credits. Didn't know what to spend them on either, so just bought random stuff to use them.
jackconnor 7y ago
Why do you think people won't want the traditional book format any longer? I'm asking because i love podcasts, i love short stories, and i love books, and these all feel completely different to me, and i enjoy them much differently. To me it feels like publishing the business has changed, but that to us there's more great content of all these formats than ever before. I'm into it, i hope this trend continues.
felipemnoa 7y ago
>>but I am 100% sure that in the not so distant future Amazon will completely destroy the whole publishing ecosystem in US and that will have horrendous effect on the quality of what is being written and on the availability of things to read I really don't think this is accurate. People that love reading will not all of a sudden stop reading because of audiobooks in the same way that people who loved music did not stop going to concerts when records became available. I have no real arguments other than to say that even though I know there are audio versions of the books I like to read I still prefer to consume them in print form. It is just a much more enjoyable experience. Besides, turning a book into an audio format is the easy part [laughably easy when you compare it to the art of writing a really good book] Writing the book is the hard part. Really, really hard. That is not going away.
deleted 7y ago
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ChildOfChaos 7y ago

I think Audible works though because of the monthly subscription and the fact people get credits a month in exchange for a book. This credit is purchased at a lot lower cost than paying for the book outright. But it's sold on the basis that people will stay subscribed and thus end up with books they wouldn't of otherwise bought as they are looking for something to spend their credit on this month. A different model than someone actually knowing the author, waiting for the release and then buying it directly from them. It's essentially free money for author/publisher so they are all rushing to the platform.

max76 7y ago
> But it's sold on the basis that people will stay subscribed and thus end up with books they wouldn't of otherwise bought as they are looking for something to spend their credit on this month. Why would someone feel pressure to use a credit? A person can have several extra credits at time. The credit system has a lot of advantages for Amazon, but time pressure isn't one of them.
- lugg 7y ago
  Credits expire and there is a max of 6.
  - disiplus 7y ago
    it's 1 year from 2 April. I was thinking about canceling with the old policy but maybe not anymore. right now I have 3 unused credits.
- asdfasgasdgasdg 7y ago
  It is, a little. You can't sustain a listening rate of less than nine books per year. That's because there are no plans that provide less than one credit per month, and you can only put your account on hold three months per year. I suppose you could bank extra credits indefinitely, but if you only want to read six books per year, then after two years you will have a year's worth of credits banked. After four years, you'll have two years worth of credits banked.
  - Jagat 7y ago
    There's a hidden 'silver' plan which is one credit every two months. The only way to get that is to talk to/chat with the customer service.
    - r00fus 7y ago
      Wow - I would totally benefit from that. I need to talk with them. I do like to re-listen to some really good classics so I'd rather not cancel my Audible sub.
      - asdfasgasdgasdg 7y ago
        You don't lose your books when you cancel your sub. You just stop getting credits.
    - maaaats 7y ago
      I got it as an option when I tried to cancel. Went forward with the cancellation anyway, as I found it deceptive. Esepcially the part that canceling would lose all my credits. Didn't know what to spend them on either, so just bought random stuff to use them.

jackconnor 7y ago

Why do you think people won't want the traditional book format any longer? I'm asking because i love podcasts, i love short stories, and i love books, and these all feel completely different to me, and i enjoy them much differently. To me it feels like publishing the business has changed, but that to us there's more great content of all these formats than ever before. I'm into it, i hope this trend continues.

felipemnoa 7y ago

>>but I am 100% sure that in the not so distant future Amazon will completely destroy the whole publishing ecosystem in US and that will have horrendous effect on the quality of what is being written and on the availability of things to read I really don't think this is accurate. People that love reading will not all of a sudden stop reading because of audiobooks in the same way that people who loved music did not stop going to concerts when records became available. I have no real arguments other than to say that even though I know there are audio versions of the books I like to read I still prefer to consume them in print form. It is just a much more enjoyable experience. Besides, turning a book into an audio format is the easy part [laughably easy when you compare it to the art of writing a really good book] Writing the book is the hard part. Really, really hard. That is not going away.

deleted 7y ago

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