Should listening to audiobooks really be considered as ‘reading’ ?

[Zorral]

Deeply distressed that Spotify wants to muscle in on the audiobook business.  It will treat the books and the authors just as it does musicians and their music: offering all one can eat at no price at all, of which it takes everything except a penny.

This is quite personal as we've fortunately been able to receive decent audio royalties every period on all our titles, despite how long ago some of them were published

[kissdbyfire]

On 7/23/2023 at 2:31 PM, Ser Rodrigo Belmonte II said:

And you guys can say what you want but I feel we really will lose something of inherent value if people replace book reading completely by the convenience and ease of audiobooks.

You started this discussion by saying it wasn’t that reading was worthier than listening but now that’s exactly what you’re saying. So, which is it?

On 7/23/2023 at 2:31 PM, Ser Rodrigo Belmonte II said:

It just doesn’t stimulate you on the same intellectual and creative level as reading an actual book quietly.  
 

Don’t you think that’s for each individual to decide for themselves? Perhaps audiobooks don’t stimulate your intellect and creativity as much as books, but that won’t be true for everyone. People are different, people’s brains are wired differently, etc. 

On 7/23/2023 at 2:31 PM, Ser Rodrigo Belmonte II said:

As a guy in his mid 20s , it’s disheartening to see that on all the dates I’ve gone on, almost all the women prefer listening to podcasts or watching shows then ever reading an actual book. And I do think audio books contribute to this apathy.  

I’m sorry (not really), but this statement is a fucking joke. I mean, judgmental much?
But to liken enjoying audiobooks more than books to apathy is an incredibly idiotic statement. Maybe “proper” books aren’t doing as much for you as you seem to think they are. 

[HexMachina]

4 hours ago, Zorral said:

Deeply distressed that Spotify wants to muscle in on the audiobook business.  It will treat the books and the authors just as it does musicians and their music: offering all one can eat at no price at all, of which it takes everything except a penny.

This is quite personal as we've fortunately been able to receive decent audio royalties every period on all our titles, despite how long ago some of them were published

Do you know what the exact mechanics of this are? I use Spotify Premium and have noticed I get a certain allowance of audiobook hours per month. I'll admit I've already used the once but I'd be interested to know how it works, and how fairly (or not!) authors are being treated here

[Zorral]

47 minutes ago, HexMachina said:

how fairly (or not!) authors are being treated here

Just as with the music, they pay a license fee or buy outright the right to sell/rent the books to readers, from the company on which the label on which the music was releases, here the publisher.  The authors, like the musicians, song writers, etc. get paid 'royaliies' that amount to about 1/100th of a cent per download.

Partner periodically gets royalty statements from Spotify, with check that amounts to 0.03 cents, from albums on which he played.  It's enormously different with checks from ASCAP.  But with the music available from Spotify or Pandora, for instance, restaurants, etc. aren't paying anything, unlike say radio does.

So, per usual, only those figures who sell in the millions can make any money -- as well as their publishers/record labels.

Edited January 30 by Zorral

[HexMachina]

24 minutes ago, Zorral said:

Just as with the music, they pay a license fee or buy outright the right to sell/rent the books to readers, from the company on which the label on which the music was releases, here the publisher.  The authors, like the musicians, song writers, etc. get paid 'royaliies' that amount to about 1/100th of a cent per download.

Partner periodically gets royalty statements from Spotify, with check that amounts to 0.03 cents, from albums on which he played.  It's enormously different with checks from ASCAP.  But with the music available from Spotify or Pandora, for instance, restaurants, etc. aren't paying anything, unlike say radio does.

So, per usual, only those figures who sell in the millions can make any money -- as well as their publishers/record labels.

I see, thanks for the info. I'm going to look into it some more because I would obviously prefer to listen in a way that's more supportive to the authors.

The books I have seen included with Premium do seem to be the big sellers, unless that's just the algorithm making recs to me

[Take on Me]

I've learned to do "re-reads" via audiobook.  I can catch up with previous books in a series without sacrificing my regular reading time.  I spend about 90 mins a day in my commute, so might as well take advantage. 

[Zorral]

On 1/30/2024 at 6:17 PM, HexMachina said:

I see, thanks for the info. I'm going to look into it some more because I would obviously prefer to listen in a way that's more supportive to the authors.

This should interest you!  

Spotify claims to have paid audiobook publishers ‘tens of millions’ in royalties
The streaming company says its payout model is competitive, but the Society of Authors has raised doubts about whether authors ultimately benefit

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2024/feb/01/spotify-claims-to-have-paid-audiobook-publishers-tens-of-millions-in-royalties