A short history of the audiobook, 20 years after the first portable digital audio device | PBS NewsHour

Twenty years ago, Amazon Audible launched the first portable audio player designed specifically for listening to audiobooks. it cost $200 and could only hold about two hours of audio. Today, readers can listen to hundreds of hours on their smartphones and choose from more than 35,000 books published each year across dozens of apps and devices. More than 67 million Americans now listen to audiobooks annually, according to the Audio Publishers Association.

On the device’s anniversary, pbs newshour takes a look back at the history of audiobooks, how they’re different from reading on the page, and where they’re headed next.

You are reading: When were audio books invented

where audiobooks began

Audiobooks first emerged in 1932 with the establishment of a recording studio by the American Foundation for the Blind, which created recordings of books on vinyl records. each side held about 15 minutes of speech. The following year, Congress passed an amendment allowing the Library of Congress to begin producing audiobooks.

Initial recordings included plays by William Shakespeare, The Constitution, and Gladys Hasty Carroll’s novel As The Earth Turns. little by little more record companies sprung up, mainly to help the blind. In 1955, the listening library became a major distributor of recorded books.

new technology spurred the growth of audiobooks with cassette tapes in the 1960s and compact discs in the 1980s. waldenbooks set up “audio hubs” in its bookstores and publishers random house, warner publisher, and simon & schuster opened audio editing divisions.

By 1994, the term “audiobook” had become an industry standard. and a year later, audible made it possible to download books on desktop computers.

audiobook devices

As audiobooks have become more popular, there have been countless debates about the best apps and ways to digest the medium. Audible is among the most widely used paid subscription platforms, with apps that can be downloaded on smartphones, iPads, desktops, and Kindles, but there are also many free apps through local library systems, such as Hoopla and Overdrive.

See also  16 Best Novels Featuring Cats | Learn More on Litter-Robot Blog

CD versions of audiobooks are also sold and available in libraries, as are devices made specifically for audiobook reading.

See Also: Classics Audiobooks in Literature & Fiction | Audible.com

“In the beginning, it was about having the right device to play the file format,” said christopher platt, branch director of the new york public library. Now that the books are in digital format, he said, they are accessible to many more people.

platt said the biggest change for audiobooks was the move from cassette tapes to CD players in cars. he remembered a whole suitcase of cassette tapes when someone once put out an audio version of the bible.

the growth of an industry

As the publishing industry is experiencing a general decline in physical and e-book sales, audiobook sales are booming.

In its 2016 annual report, the Audio Publishers Association, which tracks the industry, found that sales totaled $2.1 billion in 2016, an increase of 18.2% from the previous year . compare that to $1.8 billion worth of hardcover books sold in 2016.

The number of audiobooks available has also increased. In 2016, 51,000 audiobooks were published, up from 7,200 in 2011. Making an audiobook has become a much faster and more convenient option for publishers, Platt said.

“I’ve always said that content is king, it’s really about what’s on offer,” he said. “Gone are the days of having simple classics [available]…people want what people read and talk about today.”

dan zitt, vice president of content production for penguin random house audio, said the industry gained more steam after voice actor jim dale read j.k. Rowling’s Harry Potter series in over 200 different voices hit digital shelves in 2015.

See also  16 Best Psychology Books on Human Behavior — Read for Successful Communication - Headway media

Multicast talent performances are also becoming more common, with Audible’s recent dramatization of “The X-Files: Cold Cases” and “Stolen Lives,” which featured the cast of the original series, and production from penguin random house by “george saunders”. lincoln in the bard” with 166 narrators.

While celebrities are increasingly interested in voicing audiobooks, most are still read by readers of specific audiobooks.

Are audiobooks right for you?

See Also: How to save money on buying books – or get them for free | Money | The Guardian

The biggest question about audiobooks is: does listening to a book count as much as reading it? some traditional readers may scoff at listening to a great classic, having tried the audio and hated it. meanwhile, avid audiobook listeners say they read and understand more with audio, and that it enables them to read more books.

Some studies show that listening to books doesn’t keep readers as engaged, and the print vs. audio debate goes back to the question of visual vs. auditory learning style. the answer seems to be that it depends on the person as well as the book.

While audiobooks may not be for everyone, their number continues to grow, especially for people under 35, who make up nearly half of frequent audiobook listeners.

where do audiobooks go from here

About 55 million people listen to an audiobook each year and that number continues to grow, according to the Audio Publishers Association. many users now listen to occupy their time during housework, commuting, or to multitask with another job. As Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos boasted in a 2013 annual shareholder statement, “Audible lets you read when your eyes are busy.”

See also  14 of the Best Political Books to Better Understand Politics - Hooked To Books

Home devices like Amazon Echo and Google Home also meant more people were tuning in at home, and the APA expects to see an increase in that type of listening.

Mobile devices also allow readers to constantly listen, optimize their time and read more, with some arguing that audiobooks are another way to always stay online, boost productivity and stay constantly informed.

But Platt believes that audiobooks actually slow readers down and the medium “forces you to take your time with a slow story and the information that comes through to pay attention in a different way.”

believes this different, slower way of consuming content is similar to that of radio and podcast listeners and is key to the growth of the audiobook industry.

“It has to do with people’s time and their willingness to consume a book in a new way,” Platt said. “I think the popularity [of the audiobook] will not diminish any time soon. it could stabilize as we have seen with electronic books, but it is not a format that is going to disappear”.

correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly attributed a statement linking the growth of the audiobook industry to the performance of j.k. rowling harry potter It was dan zitt, vice president of content production at penguin random house audio, not mike charzuk, vice president of production at audible.

See Also: Sage Parker – Book Series In Order

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *