Interview With Audiobooks.com President & COO Ian Small

1)      Ian, how are audiobooks doing compared to the rest of the book industry?

Relative to our digital publishing counterparts, the audiobook industry has seen the most growth as of late. In the past couple of years the annual revenue in the industry has seen growth numbers from 23% and 14% respectively.

2)      Where does Audiobooks.com fall within the audiobook industry?

We’re the most innovative audiobook retailer in the market today. We’re constantly working on new and creative methods to deliver audiobooks to our consumers. Our iOS and Android apps, that offer both streaming and downloading, allow us to put a library of over 65,000 books right into the consumers’ pocket. Our partnerships with automotive manufacturers like General Motors, Jaguar & Land Rover, and various other connected car outlets enable our listeners to enjoy their books right from their vehicle. We’re aggressively working on reducing the barrier for listeners to enjoy audiobooks. We want to make simple, instant, and affordable for everyone to enjoy the books they love.    

3)      Which genres tend to be more popular for audiobooks?

Unabridged fiction is usually the most popular genre. It’s usually a range of mystery thrillers to romance. Typically the popular titles for books are consistent across all formats – print, ebook, audiobook.

4)      How has the audiobook industry changed in the last five years?

In the past 5 years there have been a few interesting changes in the audiobook industry but I would say the growth of digital the digital format would be at the top of the list. The CD still actually makes up a sizable portion of the audiobook market but in the past 5 years the shift to digital has been vital to market growth and one of the most important evolutions in the audiobook industry.

5)      What is the new profile of the audiobook reader?

The profile has changed slightly as the market has evolved. We still tend to skew slightly more female than male but that is typical in the book industry. Audiobook listeners are still avid readers and we’re starting to see trends more towards the 25-34 age range rather than the 35 plus age groups we saw in the past and we’re attributing that to the advancements in technology and people looking for more ways to entertain themselves with their personal devices.

6)      What are you doing with Android Auto?

Our Android app supports Android Auto just as our iOS app supports CarPlay. We’re working with our existing automotive partners to offer exclusive promotions to customers who have vehicles with the respective platforms and would like to try the Audiobooks.com service on it so be sure to check if your vehicle has a promotion.   

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Brian Feinblum’s views, opinions, and ideas expressed in this blog are his alone and not that of his employer. You can follow him on Twitter @theprexpert and email him at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He feels more important when discussed in the third-person. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog © 2015