Telstra has revealed the addition of almost one million new mobile services in the six months to December 2011, but Sensis revenues plummeted 24 percent in 12 months.
The initial titles will come from "major audio book publishers including Blackstone Audio, Hachette, Naxos Audio books, Penguin and Random House, with hundreds more to be added each week." The company says it is entering a market that is poised for growth: worldwide digital audio books sales are expected to reach $US201 million this year and nearly half of eMusic subscribers expressed interest in audio books in a recent poll.
The catalogue will comprise fiction and non-fiction classics, bestsellers and new releases, including notable books narrated by well-known voices such as: Michael Ondaatje's "The English Patient," read by Ralph Fiennes; Shakespeare's "Hamlet," read by Sir John Gielgud; Nicola Kraus' "The Nanny Diaries," read by Julia Roberts; and Barack Obama reading his own books, "Dreams of My Father" and "The Audacity of Hope."
Upcoming releases later this year will include president Bill Clinton reading his own "Giving" and Eric Clapton's autobiography, narrated by Bill Nighy. Other best-selling authors available on eMusic are Jon Stewart, David Sedaris, James Patterson, Michael Connelly, Joel Osteen, Brad Meltzer, and Janet Fitch.
The titles will be offered on the same basis as eMusic's music tracks; a fixed monthly fee for a fixed number of title downloads. Subscriptions will be priced at $US9.99 for one book or $US19.99 for two books, with one book free as part of an introductory offer.
eMusic says its subscription plans "represent a considerable discount from the cost of physical audio books, which typically retail for $US20 - $US40, and are far more convenient, as physical products often include at least four and sometimes as many as 20 CDs." eMusic also promises to provide regular reviews of audio books by critics from the Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Sun-Times, Philadelphia Inquirer, New York Observer, and Slate, among others.
According to Piper Jaffray & Co., the worldwide market for digital audio books and other spoken word is expected to grow 45 percent in revenue from $138.6 million in 2006 to $201.1 million in 2007, and 36. percent to $US274.4 million in 2008.
The service will be launched on 18 September in the US and be available from www.emusic.com .
David Bass
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