This document discusses the history and trends of audiobooks in Denmark and internationally. It notes that audiobook use and production has increased in recent years. Audiobook users are retaining library memberships at higher rates than e-book users and loan more materials on average. However, publishers have been reluctant to make their audiobook catalogs available to libraries. The document also explores who listens to audiobooks and how libraries can better market and provide access to the audiobook format.

1. Mikkel Christoffersen, special consultant, Copenhagen Libraries
City of Copenhagen
IFLA WLIC, August 29th 2018
Audiobooks
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2. Audiobooks
History in Denmark
2012 – 2014: E-books and audio-
books on separate platforms
The big publishers were out
Publishers wary about e-books
and libraries but bossy about
audiobooks
2015: Big publishers return. The
platforms are merged
”Oh noes! The audiobooks will
suffer!” (Q: Danish publisher)
2016: Big publishers pull out
again … this time with their
digital audiobooks
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3. Audiobooks
2016
Big publishers return, but
now they withhold their
audiobooks for real
Brutal negotiations to get
even some of them
We have most succes
with children’s audiobooks
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2018

4. Audiobooks
More titles through collaboration
• New production
• Re-production
• Retrodigitisation
Through public-private
partnerships
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No. of audiobooks on eReolen 2012-2018

5. Audiobooks
Trend in Denmark: The rise and rise
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6. Audiobooks
Trends internationally
In the US, 2017 sales of
audiobooks rose 20% YoY*
Print books: +1,5%
E-books: -5,4%**
* Association of American Publishers in
Forbes Magazine
** ”The great e-book war”
Amazon is getting into
audiobooks for real through
Audible
So is Google and Spotify
… along with Scribd and
Audiobooks.com who were
already there
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7. Audiobooks 7

8. Audiobooks
Why now?
I get asked this question a lot!
The podcast generation
”The medium for our time”
Reading asks you for all your
attention. Listening allows you to
do other things (driving, running)
According to our study of
audiobook users:
• Half of our users perform other
actions while listening
• Half listen as their only action
A practical issue too: ”War &
Peace” was issued on 119
records as physical audiobook
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9. Audiobooks
Enablers and disablers
Enablers:
• Production cost is down
• Production technology is
becoming available for
everyone
• New public lending rights
scheme in Denmark
Disablers:
• Though more money in the
system, a lot more titles to
compete for it
• An abundance of sound
• ECJ ruling silent on
audiobooks
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10. Audiobooks
Who are the new users?
The other question I get
asked a lot!
People coming from
podcasts .. Perhaps even
men? Young men?
Younger than e-book
users is the only fact
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11. Audiobooks
Use patterns in Denmark
Audiobook
users don’t
subscribe to the
Cult of New
It’s slow food.
Or opera.
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Age of catalogue Age of the loans

12. Audiobooks
Listeners are easier to retain
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E-books 2017
Audiobooks 2017

13. Audiobooks
Listeners loan more
E-books:
21.000 titles
1,1 mn. loans
256.000 users
Audiobooks:
7.000 titles
1.8 mn. loans
247.000 users
eReolen 2017

14. Audiobooks
Netherlands
Netherlands (17 mn):
12.000 e-books
1.200 audiobooks
4.000.000 loans (2017)
12.000 e-books
213.000 active users
3,2 mn loans
1.200 audiobooks
100.000 active users
800.000 loans
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15. Audiobooks
The US*
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* Forbes March 27th 2018

16. Audiobooks
Audiobooks are just … different
There may be music and sound
effects
People choose audiobooks
based on narrator
Audiobooks are mediated in a
different way: The narrator
The literary experience differs
more by environmental clues
and simultaneous action than
reading, but less from tactile and
haptic clues
Reading and listening may be
literary experiences, but they’re
not identical experiences
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17. Audiobooks
How do we market this?
In Denmark, we include the
narrators in the promotion
https://youtu.be/Jevc4s0-Mgg
We’ve also come up with an
annual award for narration
We’ve added podcasts to
eReolen with some problems
Podcasts operate in a vastly
different financial model than
traditional publishing
Go full sound marketing? Play-
lists for dentist appointments?
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18. Audiobooks
The obvious application
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19. Audiobooks
Should we market this? (Hint: Yes!)
Where do audiobooks fit in?
We do a boatload of reading
promotion for instance.
• A gateway drug?
• A stake in a hot market?
• A medium that makes us
competitive, but then what?
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20. Audiobooks
Fierce competition!
Scribd does discovery
Audiobooks.com collaborates
with General Motors and
Sonos and is on Apple TV
Storytel expands in Europe
and buys publishing houses
and makes exclusive content
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21. Audiobooks
The future
”We’re only doing e-books now
to acquire the rights for the
audiobook” (Q: Danish digital
marketing chief)
Near perfect synthetic speech is
around the corner; a little further
behind is auto-translation
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22. Audiobooks
The strange new(-ish) world of media
convergence and genesis
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23. Audiobooks
Questions and comments:
M. +45 2049 1885
E. c45c@kk.dk
Thanks to Margaret and Stephen for their
hard work and to the audience:
Thank you for your time! 
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