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Are we sure that Audible isn't collapsing?

7K views 57 replies 25 participants last post by  Doglover 
#1 ·
Know I've asked this before, but I still haven't gotten my audiobook from April published and this is not the way a financially stable company operates. They've had enough to hire more people. This is truly ridiculous. Is anyone else still not published for months or is it just me?
 
#2 ·
They make more money with this thing than ever...audiobooks are booming. Who knows what the hell is going on. It's not like we would deserve to know how a company that sell our property operates. I mean, we can trust them, right?

All joke aside. It still puzzles me to this day how they are allowed to run the way they do. No other business can just take your product and say "oh yeah, by the way, we will tell you how many we will sell of x and you just have to trust us."

 
#4 ·
Patty Jansen said:
I had a book in the queue since March
I can beat that - I have one dating back to January! I publish all of mine via Findaway Voices immediately now, so at least they're available somewhere (although I uncheck the ACX/Amazon box on the grounds that however slow ACX are, they're more likely to expedite "their" books over books listed through Findaway).
 
#5 ·
My understanding is that certain books were caught in that window way back at the beginning of the year. Books published since then do not have a problem. I'm not sure why only books in that window have the problem but I would be demanding the old titles be scuttled and the ability to claim and load again.
 
#6 ·
Amanda M. Lee said:
My understanding is that certain books were caught in that window way back at the beginning of the year. Books published since then do not have a problem. I'm not sure why only books in that window have the problem but I would be demanding the old titles be scuttled and the ability to claim and load again.
I wondered about that, but I also have three from last month which seem to be going nowhere fast. It used to take about ten days.
 
#9 ·
markpauloleksiw said:
...I am wondering what the sales trends are like in 2020...
I expect the same as gas prices ... down. With the drop in commuters there is likely a big drop in people listening to audio books in their cars on the way to and from work.

When you are at home there is that big flashy television screen you can watch and not worry about hitting other vehicles.

.
 
#11 ·
jvin248 said:
I expect the same as gas prices ... down. With the drop in commuters there is likely a big drop in people listening to audio books in their cars on the way to and from work.

When you are at home there is that big flashy television screen you can watch and not worry about hitting other vehicles.

.
For me, personally, I've listened to maybe 2(?) audiobooks this year. And in the past I would listen to dozens in a year. For me, it's not the commute. It's the gym, mostly. When I'm at home, I can watch TV while I work out. (Some of this is just a personal "I get into moods" thing, too.)

This is a good reminder of why we really don't want Audible to have a monopoly on audiobook distribution. I'm so glad that Findaway allows us to get our audiobooks in other markets.
 
#12 ·
In response to the lengthening ROI for my audiobooks, for my new series I hooked up with a publisher for the audiobooks. (I had contacts to leverage; it wasn't just a "call 'em up and say hey" thing.) Not sure yet if this is a more effective approach because I haven't seen my first statement, but I'm giving it a try.
 
#13 ·
I expect audio to keep seeing explosive growth. If you have the means to control the publication and not sign your rights away, I would think that doing it yourself makes the most financial sense over the long haul. If you don't have the means, then you should obviously explore other possibilities.
 
#14 ·
People have been saying audio is going to explode for most of the time I've been publishing (since 2014). It hasn't exploded yet and it certainly hasn't exploded for me, personally. I've seen better sales with a series that appeals to a different segment of the market, but it hasn't been anywhere close to the 20% of eBook sales so many people quoted me.
 
#15 ·
Crystal_ said:
People have been saying audio is going to explode for most of the time I've been publishing (since 2014). It hasn't exploded yet and it certainly hasn't exploded for me, personally. I've seen better sales with a series that appeals to a different segment of the market, but it hasn't been anywhere close to the 20% of eBook sales so many people quoted me.
Maybe audio isn't as popular among romance readers? I know in some of the genre's I follow audiobooks are big sellers.
 
#16 ·
Why exactly would anyone think Audible is collapsing? Amazon companies tend to keep their profit margins pretty firmly in line, and they're doing their new subscription program now. If listens are down due to the pandemic (I have no idea), I doubt that'd bother them. Amazon's always looking long-term.
 
#17 ·
Slightly off topic, but related to Audible - did anyone else notice their monthly totals to date have been suddenly significantly reduced a day or two ago? I lost around 50 audiobook sales, and a bunch of other authors in my Slack group saw the same. Anyone else? A glitch or something else? 
 
#18 ·
AlecHutson said:
Slightly off topic, but related to Audible - did anyone else notice their monthly totals to date have been suddenly significantly reduced a day or two ago? I lost around 50 audiobook sales, and a bunch of other authors in my Slack group saw the same. Anyone else? A glitch or something else?
Backed-up returns.

Seriously, I don't know how any of the shit they pull is even legal anymore.

Their rubbish practices are rage-inducing.
 
#19 ·
Usedtoposthere said:
Why exactly would anyone think Audible is collapsing? Amazon companies tend to keep their profit margins pretty firmly in line, and they're doing their new subscription program now. If listens are down due to the pandemic (I have no idea), I doubt that'd bother them. Amazon's always looking long-term.
Because ACX has had ridiculous wait times over the last six months. It suggests some kind of mis-management. I would expect it's typical Amazon trying to automate everything/never wanting to hire humans. But it certainly doesn't speak well to Audible's future.

I know I won't be putting my books Audible exclusive with my next series if the wait times keep up. And if they're on all other retailers weeks before they're on Audible, I have to imagine the sales on Audible will decline. I'm a small fish, but I don't see why bigger authors would behave differently. No one wants to wait 6-10+ weeks for their audio to be approved. That's a huge opportunity cost.
 
#21 ·
There are viable and lucrative markets outside ACX.

I upload direct to Kobo and Findaway. The book is usually live and for sale on Kobo before the others have finished uploading. Findaway takes a day or two to get it to the major storefronts. I've had books that have earned back their cost before they even hit the store at Audible.

I think phone/operating-based platforms have a very strong presence in the audio market and Audible dominance is not a given at all.

As user, if you listen to more than one book a month, Audible is pretty bloody expensive. It does not give us the opportunity to discount our books.

So, they're losing out, I'm sure.
 
#22 ·
I had one audio series go on sale via ACX in a month this summer while another is still in review 6 weeks after submission. Since I'm wide with my audiobooks, I just launch without Amazon/Audible now. Due to the ability to discount and get in-store promos wide, I now make more than half my audio income elsewhere even though ACX has two additional (royalty-share) series that aren't on other platforms.
 
#23 ·
Crystal_ said:
People have been saying audio is going to explode for most of the time I've been publishing (since 2014). It hasn't exploded yet and it certainly hasn't exploded for me, personally. I've seen better sales with a series that appeals to a different segment of the market, but it hasn't been anywhere close to the 20% of eBook sales so many people quoted me.
That's so weird. My audio goes up steadily every year. It's at between 12.5-15% a month and does keep climbing, although it's clearly not at 20% yet. I think it should hit 20% in 2022.
 
#24 ·
Amanda M. Lee said:
That's so weird. My audio goes up steadily every year. It's at between 12.5-15% a month and does keep climbing, although it's clearly not at 20% yet. I think it should hit 20% in 2022.
I'm sure you mean to be helpful, but it's not really helpful to say "well, I do this much in audio, so you should too." I've seen a lot of bigger audio sellers who are just mystified that not everyone has their success who insist that of course I'll make more in audio. But that has not happened.

I don't have any friends who crack 10% with audio and I think most are closer to 5%. I'm sure it happens and I'm sure it's possible, but unless someone has actionable advice, it's really not helpful to hear "but I do so well in audio."

I do think some of it is early market entry. Most of the bigger audio sellers have been in audio a long time. The market is way more crowded now. I started audio in 2017 and it was already very crowded then.
 
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