Technology Once Again Transforms the Audiobook Market
“There is sometimes a general perception that people who listen to audiobooks are lazy or not good readers, who are somehow taking a shortcut. It’s exactly the opposite, and they generally just want to fit more books [into] their [lives],” says Anderson.
Audiobooks date back to the 1930s, when they were used on turntables to provide books for the blind. With the development of cassette recorders and players, audiobooks became more popular, and expanded into libraries in the 1960s. Within two decades, the industry became mainstream, bringing fiction works along with self-improvement titles and lectures to tape. The advent of compact discs expanded the market further, because more information and larger books could be put into smaller packages. In 1987, the APA was founded to increase public awareness of the audiobook industry through publicity efforts, consumer surveys, trade shows and the Audie Awards competition.