Technology Once Again Transforms the Audiobook Market
“It’s pretty much accepted across the publishing industry that at some point, the majority of sales will occur as downloads instead of visible product sales, whether that is three, five or 10 years from now,” says Balow.
Big Productions Behind the Scenes
Many audiobooks carry retail prices that are significantly higher than that of the print versions. A downloaded audiobook that requires no packaging, distribution or shipping may appear to have a higher profit margin, but audio publishers say that production costs can be high. Whereas a print book involves a writer and a team of editors, an audiobook expands on that with sound production and narration that may include guest speakers, musicians, high-tech recording equipment and time at expensive recording studios.