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That's the concept behind downloadable audio books. And for thousands of peopleworldwide these are increasingly becoming the book format of the 21st century.
It is estimated by industry specialists that by 2020, 50% of books will be inelectronic form.
"While every other medium has already gone digital, books are now catching up withthe technology. A revolution is around the corner", according to Jae Taylor, apublishing partner with Spoken Network, an online audio book distribution company -http://www.audiodigitalbooks .com.
Up to recently Audio books were occasional purchases. But fast forward to 2007, andaudio books have grown into a huge market. In fact, many experts are convinced thatdigital audio books, after plenty of false starts, are finally ready for takeoff.
"And that's why the Spoken Network have launched (November 16 2006) their uniqueapproach to capturing a significient slice of this booming market", says Jae.
There are over 5,000 items in the catalogue covering 160 different categories --everything from self-help and business through to best-selling fiction titles fromauthors like Dan Brown, James Patterson, Stephen King, Michael Connelly, PatriciaCornwell, Nancy Taylor Rosenberg, Tom Clancy, Jack Canfield, Ken Blanchard, RobertG. Allen, Robert T. Kiyosaki and many more. This is the creme de la creme ofaudiobooks from publishers like, Harper Collins, Simon & Schuster, BBC, Time Warner(Hachette), etc.
"So, for anyone with the means there's a wealth of audio choices in our cataloguethat are bound to please someone", suggests Jae.
Through the Spoken Network partner sites anyone can download digital audio books24/7 to their PC and easily transfer them to their PDA, iPod and many MP3 players athome or in the office. And there's even speculation that Apple could come out withits own device, an iPod designed for books.
So, it would appear that the stage is now set for a new and exciting chapter in theaudio books saga. The puzzle pieces are on the table. We've got the critical mass ofcontent and the hardware. And now with the Spoken Network of partner sites, anattractive business model that connects them all together.
Spoken Network has been developed to meet the specific needs of spoken wordlisteners and publishers. The system offers a powerful, feature-packed, web-based shopÂ' with the sole purpose of allowing the fast, effective digital downloading ofspoken word content and the built-in digital rights management allows for flexibleuse of the downloaded files while tackling the issue of illegal file sharing.
Once uploaded to Spoken Network, either direct by the publisher or via SpokenNetwork technicians, the audio files can be downloaded securely onto personalcomputers or widely available portable WMA or MP3 players.
