- Amazon’s (NASDAQ:AMZN) Audible will release the audiobook before the print version of Olympic snowboarder Shaun White’s memoir later this year.
- WSJ reports that Amazon “paid for the lion’s share of the memoir to gain rights to the audio version.”
- Amazon holds about 41% of the U.S. audiobook market, according to Codex Group research. Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) and Walmart (NYSE:WMT) recently moved deeper into the market to better compete.
- Amazon is trying to drive more subscribers to Audible through more original content and securing audiobook rights from agents before the other rights are sold.
- But several major publishers say they don’t generally buy a new book without the audiobook rights included and that could deter agents (and authors) from the Audible sale.
- In other rights news, Amazon will stand this week among the bidders for the multi-billion pound auction for English Premier League rights.
- The last three-year rights package raised $7.25B.
- Amazon shares are up 0.6%.
- Previously: Google starts selling audiobooks to take on Amazon (Jan. 23)
- Now read: 5 Keys To Amazon's Future
Original article