so i take it that itunes will not be able to sell the books, well this is no biggie, no one really buys off itunes, i have an audible subscription, and not allowing audio books in the future to play off this would be foolish, i think itunes is gonna sink, amazon may come out on top
For those that are worried about iPod compatibility:
1. Books already in your library will probably continue to function just as they have always have.
2. The question is if Apple will renew the FairPlay license with Amazon. This will depend on if Apple sees Amazon as a competitor or a supplier. If Apple sees Amazon as a supplier they may surprise us and let Amazon continue with the Audible license.
3. Amazon may sell these audiobooks without DRM. I don't think this is likely as book publishers make the RIAA look like Pirate Bay supporters. But Amazon already sells mp3s and ebooks without DRM.
I'd say those reports were fairly accurate. I suspect that Amazon will discontinue their (exclusive) relationship with Apple, but I don't see that as any big loss. I think that anyone who regularly listens to audiobooks would be foolish to pay full-price through the iTMS, when they can be had far cheaper via Audible's subscription service. Even if one goes through more than the one or two per month they receive via subscription, the discount members get for purchases through Audible can be significant as well.
Based on Amazon's business model, expect the Audible.com site to become incorporated into Amazon.com. Audible will redirect there, and their content will be accessed directly via Amazon downloads. This will also force anyone buying audiobooks to try out Amazon's service and, probably convince a lot of people who have exclusively used iTunes for content, that using Amazon isn't much of a hassle, and can in some cases save them money/DRM/waiting for Apple to make deals with providers/etc.
He also said he'd pay for them if they were under $10, quoting price as his rationalization. But as I pointed out, they ARE under $10.
I'm talking about audiobooks not ebooks. Most audiobooks are $25 or more. I'm talking about ones that most people would want.
There is a series of books called, "The Cat Who" series by Lillian Jackson Braun. They are murder mystery books and there are 28 or 29 of them now. The iTunes store only has nine of them.
The older three are $14.95, $15.95, and $16.95. But all the newer ones are $20 plus dollars. That's quite a bit of money.
I do realize they have the writer who gets paid and the (at least in this series) great vocalist reading the books that gets paid and so on with the publisher and distributer.
And I realize that books are a lot longer than albums. It's still just too high for me.
I have to second Sabon here about the price of audiobooks. I've been wanting to buy one for awhile, just to see how they work in iTunes. But I have yet to find one that I am both willing to buy and at a price I am willing to pay. I understand the cost structure, just not willing to pay it.
Comments
1. Books already in your library will probably continue to function just as they have always have.
2. The question is if Apple will renew the FairPlay license with Amazon. This will depend on if Apple sees Amazon as a competitor or a supplier. If Apple sees Amazon as a supplier they may surprise us and let Amazon continue with the Audible license.
3. Amazon may sell these audiobooks without DRM. I don't think this is likely as book publishers make the RIAA look like Pirate Bay supporters. But Amazon already sells mp3s and ebooks without DRM.
I'd say those reports were fairly accurate. I suspect that Amazon will discontinue their (exclusive) relationship with Apple, but I don't see that as any big loss. I think that anyone who regularly listens to audiobooks would be foolish to pay full-price through the iTMS, when they can be had far cheaper via Audible's subscription service. Even if one goes through more than the one or two per month they receive via subscription, the discount members get for purchases through Audible can be significant as well.
Based on Amazon's business model, expect the Audible.com site to become incorporated into Amazon.com. Audible will redirect there, and their content will be accessed directly via Amazon downloads. This will also force anyone buying audiobooks to try out Amazon's service and, probably convince a lot of people who have exclusively used iTunes for content, that using Amazon isn't much of a hassle, and can in some cases save them money/DRM/waiting for Apple to make deals with providers/etc.
He's using the library.
He also said he'd pay for them if they were under $10, quoting price as his rationalization. But as I pointed out, they ARE under $10.
He also said he'd pay for them if they were under $10, quoting price as his rationalization. But as I pointed out, they ARE under $10.
But there is still that pesky huge up-front investment to get that price.
He also said he'd pay for them if they were under $10, quoting price as his rationalization. But as I pointed out, they ARE under $10.
I'm talking about audiobooks not ebooks. Most audiobooks are $25 or more. I'm talking about ones that most people would want.
There is a series of books called, "The Cat Who" series by Lillian Jackson Braun. They are murder mystery books and there are 28 or 29 of them now. The iTunes store only has nine of them.
The older three are $14.95, $15.95, and $16.95. But all the newer ones are $20 plus dollars. That's quite a bit of money.
I do realize they have the writer who gets paid and the (at least in this series) great vocalist reading the books that gets paid and so on with the publisher and distributer.
And I realize that books are a lot longer than albums. It's still just too high for me.
Again, I'm talking audio books not e-books.