July 2024 News Roundup

The July 2024 audiobook news includes an international summit, acquisitions, arts funding, and royalty models. Audiobooks that celebrate Disability Pride Month and a PANA collaboration for Ukraine relief are featured. Speechify and ElevenLabs are both in the AI news. After reading that quietly to yourself, take a closer look at Podium Entertainment, Audiolibre, and how farmers make audiobooks.

Audio Publishers Association Stages International Summit

This one-day conference will bring together in New York some of the players better known in international circles than in the States. [Sources: Publishing Perspectives]

The business of audiobooks

RBmedia to Acquire Dreamscape Media

Michael Paull, CEO of RBmedia said, “The acquisition of Dreamscape will give RBmedia additional depth in key genres and enable us to serve a broader set of authors and publishers. [Source: ABN Newswire]

S&S Partners with Media Company Pave Studios

In announcing the deal with S&S, Cutler pointed to an “innovative business model” that will reward successful creators. [Source: Publishers Weekly]

Voices of the north

With investment from publishers and arts funding bodies, audiobook production is set to boom in the north of England. [Source: The Bookseller]

Audible Pitches Publishers and Authors on a New Royalties Model

The Amazon subsidiary wants the industry to make more audiobooks available for bottomless consumption. [Source: Bloomberg]

FEED YOUR EARPODS

25 Audiobooks Featuring Disabled Characters for Young Listeners of All Ages

That these audiobooks were all published in 2024 is proof of growing disability awareness and greater inclusion in publishing. [Source: School Library Journal]

Pottermore Publishing and hoopla Digital Bring the Original Harry Potter Audiobooks to Libraries for the First Time

Libraries across the U.S. and Canada have been requesting access to the Stephen Fry editions for years, as they have been in high demand among their patrons. [Source: Businesswire]

John Elder rediscovers his life in new audiobook

Each chapter of the book is embedded with a tune that Elder played with his flute. “They were associated in some ways with an aspect of our lives,” he said. [Source: Addison County Independent]

New Braunfels narrator lends voice to audiobook to support Ukrainian artists

Twenty-one members of the Professional Audiobook Narrators Association (PANA) have collaborated to create the Ukraine relief audiobook project titled “A Word Is Not A Sparrow” in support of Ukrainian artists. [Source: Herald-Zeitung]

BEYOND THE UNITED STATES

Audiolibre’s Elena Bazán and Álvaro Ortiz in Mexico: Audio First

“We wanted to do something more than just convert texts into audiobooks,” Ortiz says, “and to make something richer. And so we use texts written for audio, and add multiple voices, original music, and sound effects, to create a bigger experience.” [Source: Publishing Perspectives]

AI considerations

This AI Startup Wants You to Read Audiobooks to Yourself

AI startup Speechify is putting its own spin on audiobooks and giving you, the listener, a leading role. You get to be the star if you want. [Source: CNET]

Your Next AudioBook Might Be Read by Judy Garland

In a statement as a representative of the Garland Estate, Liza Minnelli says, "It's exciting to see our mother's voice available to the countless millions of people who love her.” [Source: Playbill]

Interviews & Podcasts

PW Close-Up: Podium Entertainment

PW spoke with the company's publisher, Victoria Gerken, about its growth, its mission, and how Podium is meeting the publishing needs of authors from all backgrounds and genres. [Source: Publishers Weekly]

Robert Petkoff on Finding the Narrative Voice

Golden Voice narrator Robert Petkoff joins host Jo Reed to discuss his work in audiobooks and the career path that led him there. [Source: Literary Hub]

She Makes Emily Henry’s Books Sound Hot

Julia Whelan has recorded hundreds of audiobooks and has “zero problem narrating all levels of spice.” [Source: New York, The Cut]

out of the box

BBC Audiobooks to run interactive listening experience at Harrogate

Described as the publisher’s first experiential marketing stunt, each installation will be themed around a different audiobook, with artwork and set dressing. Speakers incorporated into props will allow festival visitors to sit and listen to extracts of the audiobooks. [Source: The Bookseller]

How Farmers Make Audiobooks [video]

Visit Toby Dog of Gold Shaw Farm to see his audiobook in the making and see some familiar faces. [Source: MSN]