The Rise of Audiobooks

I google searched 'audiobook article' one day to find extra information regarding audiobooks to revise my writing report with. Two articles in particular that caught my eye came from both the Wall Street Journal and the Independent, both being high reputation websites.

The articles interested me because it shows how far audiobooks have come in terms of accessibility. In my writing report, I mentioned how it was a luxury for school libraries and public libraries had entire sections for audiobook access. I also stated, however, that the evolution of technology has made it possible for audiobooks to be available to anyone with a computer and/or a smartphone. Previously, audiobooks had to be carried around via CD player or tape cassette, both cumbersome devices. Nowadays, MP3 files; iPods and mobile media players almost replace such devices and make it easier to enjoy and carry around audiobooks.

In addition, audiobooks in the marketplace are now worth unbelievable profits. Sales of audiobooks are on the rise and it's changing the way books are read in a positive way. Amazon's audible service has over twenty thousand audiobooks with narrations and they add more a month. Billions of dollars in revenue are raked in, and prices are on par with that of e-books. This is a far cry from the past where audiobooks cost $50 tops.

This is a big deal for me because I want to hire voice actors for audiobook adaptations of my work. Voice actors also benefit because it's considered a lucrative side job for them. Hollywood talent tends to take the reign of some audiobook titles, but my works won't have such talent. I wanted to get voice actors from anime; cartoons and games involved in my audiobook projects. Ditto that remark for any animated or game based adaptations of my work.

I was actually inspired by such voice actors reading books that I got from the library. That's what motivated me to write my novels, so the same would happen with my work. That's why I want to write novels: to introduce new stories and to get my role models involved.

The articles that this post pertains to can be found here:
The New Explosion in Audio Books - Wall Street Journal
Sound and the story: The rise of the audiobook - The Independent