Audible Now Gives Subscribers Two Free Audible Original Titles Each Month
In 2013 Amazon launched Kindle First, a program where Amazon Prime subscribers could download one Amazon-published ebook for free each month.
Audible launched its own version of this program on Friday.
Current Audible subscribers can now download two Audible Original titles for free each month. A selection of six listening experiences, created and performed by incredible talent and available exclusively on Audible, will be made available on the first Friday of every month.
This month’s selection includes:
- Girls & Boys, performed by Carey Mulligan
- The Coming Storm, written and performed by Michael Lewis
- The Dented Head of Joey Pigza, written and performed by Jack Gantos
- Emma: an Audible Original Drama by Jane Austen, adapted by Anna Lea and performed by Emma Thompson and a full cast
- Feeding the Dragon, written and performed by Sharon Washington
- The X-Files: Cold Cases, performed by David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, and a full cast
One of the interesting side effects of the Kindle First program is that the free titles generally shot to the top of the Kindle Store best-seller lists.
Do you think Audible’s program will have the same impact?
Comments
Tom S September 7, 2018 um 2:37 pm
Note that as part of this, Audible Channels have been deprecated, and are no longer accessible via the Audible app. You have to use a web browser and go to the Audio Shows page at https://www.audible.com/ep/AudioShows (good luck finding it from the main page: I had to recover the email they sent out and click the link in that). It is sort of a ‘good riddance’ thing though – it was onerous to navigate to the content (you could not bookmark it for quicker access) and you could not download any of the free audiobooks. I think they intentionally made it inconvenient to access the content, and probably have to pay out royalties when it is accessed. I expect it will disappear entirely at some point.
As far as I can tell these AO offerings are relatively short audiobooks. I’m looking forward to exploring but it will do nothing to reduce my growing backlog of unlistened-to audiobooks.
Tom S September 7, 2018 um 2:44 pm
As a side-thought, I wonder when Amazon will enable the Kindle app to play all Audible content (and not just audiobook ‘companions’). Apple’s Books, Google Play Books, Kobo Books, Nook (I think) all play audiobooks that you purchase from the respective vendors. Amazon would be able to ‘enhance’ the listening experience with XRay, Goodreads integration, Collections – things that already exist in the Kindle app and which they seem reluctant to add to the Audible app.
Disgusting Dude September 7, 2018 um 9:05 pm
Audible is run as an independent unit.
They may prefer their subscribers use their app and object to the Kindle app being fully compatible on the grounds that it obsoletes their app.
Interservice rivalry isn’t just for the military.