Do you want to get the access to exclusive podcasts and audio content, but unable to do that because of the high subscription charges? Here you go.
Audible ( an Amazon company) id providing access to its exclusive podcasts and audio content at a comparatively at very affordable pricing. Along with this new plan, the company is segregating its plans into Audible Gold and Platinum plans which is something called Audible Premium Plus.
Audible will separate its exclusive audio content into its plan today at a lower subscription price, and it will not be including any credits to download the audiobooks outside its catalogue. Audible Plus’s plan of $7.95 per month is going to be the company’s cheapest plan where subscribers will get access to more than 68,0000 hours of material (more than 11000 headings) including the collection of exclusive audio content like podcasts, audiobooks and Audible originals.
Being a user, are you still looking for something else? Okay, that’s not a problem as, In the coming time, Audible is also planning to launch much more in its store like new and exclusive content, a podcast which is made with Pushkin Industries, author Malcom Gladwell’s podcast company, NBA about the continuous impact of Michael Jordan as well as Chicago Bulls, various audio narratives starring celebrities like Michael Caine, Alicia Silverstone, Josh Gad and many others. As per the company it has more than 68,000 hours’ content for its subscribers in its catalogue. Although it is still not clear about exactly how much content of this catalogue is third-party versus exclusive content.
In the Audible Premium Plus plan, its subscribers will get access to various new items like fill Audible catalogue just like the Plus subscribers. They will also be getting one credit which can be used for access to any content in the Audible’s library regardless of the price and length, and this plan is available for $14.95 per month and for two credits you will be getting the plan at the $22.95 per month. For now, these plans are still considered to be in a “preview” phase as the company is thinking to consider the feedback of the users before the official launch of the plans. But yes its existing subscribers can get access to the Audible Plus catalogue, which is starting today.
Some of you who are not using the Audible services might be wondering about the plans for new users. So let us tell you that the new customers who all want to use Audible Plus can start signing up for it from August 27th onwards.
In case you are still confused about the prices, Audible plus cost is $7.95 per month, Audible premium plus cost is $14.95 per month. Subscribers will be able to listen to the Audible plus catalogue using the app, Alexa enables devices as well as the Amazon Fire tablets.
The entire experience of these plans will now be ad-free (which is the need of time as we all get irritated whenever we see some ad in between our episodes) as reported by The Verge, and this will be including the podcasts that it brings in from third-party providers. This week, Audible will also include Business Wars (Wondery podcasts) and other podcasts too, in its catalogue. And the Ad spots will be stripped from the show.
As for what Audible considers a podcast versus an Audible Original, as per a spokesperson original focuses more on the narrative beginning, then middle, and the end. Audible is providing more and more podcast content to its subscribers and isn’t pulling them in from any third-party RSS feeds.
Audible Plus is something that will keep people hooked on the audio content with lots of available options a spokesperson said. But it seems like, instead of offering what Audible is most well known for (audiobooks) it is focusing more on its broader audio offerings. It looks as like Audible may not be paying any royalty when people come for Audible’s exclusive content, cutting down on cost. All this shows the strategy of turning its listeners from music to the podcasts. As some of you must be knowing that for music, Spotify needs to pay the artists every time someone listens to a song, the same way Audible has to pay to the authors whenever a person cashes in an Audible credit for a book. Pushing the listeners to exclusively owned audio content will lead to revenue for the company. It is possible that Audible could focus on advertising too.
Audible is not scraping RSS feeds
Audible also decided to work only with podcast companies with whom it has already involved in some deals. Audible is not trying to build its catalogue and programming freely available to the customers, but it is setting itself as a huge competitor to other podcast companies. Audible is facing serious competition in the audio space, and its efforts can make the company’s services
exclusive.
A thing which makes Audible different is its focus on expertly formed content, high quality and the bar of narrative storytelling.
This audio platform’s war seems like coming down to exclusives with big companies investing to it, and large enough catalogues to pad out the more expensive and original shows. Amazon has significant money to back up its push into audio, and the company may try to align more celebrities.
It is interesting to see how the audio content market is becoming more and more competitive. As we all know that the market share of podcast player is lead by Apple podcasts. Spotify is also leading in some regions, and there are so many other companies which are investing in and going to become a part of the competition soon. During this pandemic, the thought of providing the cheaper subscription to the people can prove very helpful for the company as well as the users. As it may increase the market share for the company and users, it may prove to be a relaxing platform that too within their budget.
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