United States Audiobook

1 united states

1.1 beginnings 1970
1.2 1970 1996
1.3 1996 present

united states
beginnings 1970

many short, spoken word recordings sold on cylinder in late 1800s , 1900s, round cylinders limited 4 minutes each making books impractical; flat platters increased 12 minutes impractical longer works. 1 listener complained need wheelbarrow carry around talking books recorded on discs such limited storage capacity. 1930s close-grooved records increased 20 minutes making possible longer narrative.

in 1931, american foundation blind (afb) , library of congress books adult blind project established talking books program (books blind), intended provide reading material veterans injured during world war , other visually impaired adults. first test recordings in 1932 included chapter helen keller s midstream , edgar allan poe s raven . organization received congressional approval exemption copyright , free postal distribution of talking books. first recordings made talking books program in 1934 included sections of bible; declaration of independence , other patriotic documents; plays , sonnets shakespeare; , fiction gladys hasty carroll, e. m. delafield, cora jarrett, rudyard kipling, john masefield, , p. g. wodehouse.

recording blind & dyslexic (rfbd, later renamed learning ally) founded in 1948 anne t. macdonald, member of new york public library s women s auxiliary, in response influx of inquiries soldiers had lost sight in combat during world war ii. newly passed gi bill of rights guaranteed college education veterans, texts inaccessible blinded veterans, did not read braille , had little access live readers. macdonald mobilized women of auxiliary under motto education right, not privilege . members of auxiliary transformed attic of new york public library studio, recording textbooks using state-of-the-art six-inch vinyl soundscriber phonograph discs played approximately 12 minutes of material per side. in 1952, macdonald established recording studios in 7 additional cities across united states.

caedmon records pioneer in audiobook business, first company dedicated selling spoken work recordings public , has been called seed of audiobook industry. caedmon formed in new york in 1952 college graduates barbara holdridge , marianne roney. first release collection of poems dylan thomas read author. lp s b-side contained child s christmas in wales added afterthought - story obscure , thomas himself couldn t remember title when asked use fill b-side - recording went on become 1 of loved works, , launched caedmon successful company. original 1952 recording selection 2008 united states national recording registry, stating credited launching audiobook industry in united states . caedmon used lp records, invented in 1948, made longer recordings more affordable , practical, of works poems, plays , other short works, not unabridged books due lp s limitation of 45-minute playing time (combined sides).

listening library pioneering company, 1 of first distribute children s audiobooks schools, libraries , other special markets, including va hospitals. founded anthony ditlow , wife in 1955 in red bank, new jersey home; ditlow partially blind. pioneering company spoken arts founded in 1956 arthur luce klein , wife, produced on 700 recordings , best known poetry , drama recordings used in schools , libraries. caedemon, listening library , spoken arts benefited new technology of lps, increased governmental funding schools , libraries beginning in 1950s , 60s.

1970 1996

though spoken recordings popular in 33⅓ vinyl record format schools , libraries 1970s, beginning of modern retail market audiobooks can traced wide adoption of cassette tapes during 1970s. cassette tapes invented in 1963 , few libraries, such library of congress, began distributing books on cassette 1969. however, during 1970s, number of technological innovations allowed cassette tape wider usage in libraries , spawned creation of new commercial audiobook market. these innovations included introduction of small , cheap portable players such walkman, , widespread use of cassette decks in cars, particularly imported japanese models flooded market during multiple energy crises of decade.

in 1970s, instructional recordings among first commercial products sold on cassette. there 8 companies distributing materials on cassette titles such managing , selling companies (12 cassettes, $300) , executive seminar in sound on series of 60-minute cassettes. in libraries, books on cassette still made blind , handicap, new companies saw opportunity making audiobooks wider audience, such voice on books produced abridged best-sellers professional actors. pioneers included olympic gold medalist duvall hecht in 1975 founded california-based books on tape direct consumer mail order rental service unabridged audiobooks , expanded services selling products libraries , audiobooks gaining popularity commuters , travelers. in 1978, henry trentman, traveling salesman listened sales tapes while driving long distances, had idea create quality unabridged recordings of classic literature read professional actors. company, maryland-based recorded books, followed model of books on tape higher quality studio recordings , actors. recorded books , chivers audio books first develop integrated production teams , work professional actors.

by 1984, there eleven audiobook publishing companies, included caedmon, metacom, newman communications, recorded books, brilliance , books on tape. companies small, largest had catalog of 200 titles. abridged titles being sold in bookstores, such walden books, had negligible sales figures, many sold mail-order subscription or through libraries. however, in 1984, brilliance audio invented technique recording twice on same cassette allowing affordable unabridged editions. technique involved recording on each of 2 channels of each stereo track. opened market new opportunities , september 1985, publishers weekly identified twenty-one audiobook publishers. these included new major publishers such harper , row, random house, , warner communications.

1986 has been identified turning point in industry, when matured experimental curiosity. number of events happened: audio publishers association, professional non-profit trade association, established publishers joined promote awareness of spoken word audio , provide industry statistic. time-life began offering members audiobooks. book-of-the-month club began offering audiobooks members, did literary guild. other clubs such history book club, rich club, nostalgia book club, scholastic club children began offering audiobooks. publishers began releasing religious , inspirational titles in christian bookstores. may 1987, publishers weekly initiated regular column cover industry. end of 1987, audiobook market estimated $200 million market, , audiobooks on cassette being sold in 75% of regional , independent bookstores surveyed publishers weekly. august 1988 there forty audiobook publishers, 4 times many in 1984.

by middle of 1990s, audio publishing business grew 1.5 billion dollars year in retail value. in 1996, audio publishers association established audie awards audiobooks, equivalent oscar audiobook industry. nominees announced each year february. winners announced @ gala banquet in may, in conjunction bookexpo america.

1996 present

with rise of internet, broadband technologies, new compressed audio formats , portable media players, popularity of audiobooks has increased during late 1990s , 2000s. in 1997, audible.com pioneered world s first mass-market digital media player, named audible player , retailed $200, held 2-hours of audio , touted being smaller , lighter walkman , popular cassette player used @ time. digital audiobooks significant new milestone allowed listeners freedom physical media such cassettes , cd-roms required transportation through mail, allowing instead instant download access online libraries of unlimited size, , portability using comparatively small , lightweight devices. audible.com first establish website, in 1998, digital audiobooks purchased.

another innovation creation of librivox in 2005 montreal-based writer hugh mcguire posed question on blog: can net harness bunch of volunteers bring books in public domain life through podcasting? began creation of free audiobooks volunteer narrators. end of 2012, librivox had catalogue of on 6,244 unabridged books , producing dozens of new books per month.

the transition cassette, cd, digital download has been documented audio publishers association in annual surveys (the earlier transition record cassette described in section on 1970s). final year cassettes represented greater 50% of total market sales 2002. cassettes replaced cds dominant medium during 2003-2004. cds reached peak of 78% of sales in 2008, began decline in favor of digital downloads. 2012 survey found cds accounted half of sales meaning no longer dominate medium (apa did not report digital download figures 2012, in 2011 cds accounted 53% , digital download 41%). apa estimates audiobook sales in 2015 in digital format increased 34% on 2014.

the resurgence of audio storytelling attributed advances in mobile technologies such smartphones, tablets, , multimedia entertainment systems in cars, known connected car platforms. audio drama recordings podcast on internet.

in 2014, bob & debra deyan of deyan audio opened deyan institute of vocal artistry , technology, world s first campus , school teaching art , technology of audiobook production.