DRM-free audiobooks from Random House
Published by on July 11th, 2008
As much as publishers panic at the thought of losing control of their products once out there on the mighty interweb, so we are seeing more companies offering professional audiobook products as DRM-free downloads.
PublishersWeekly is reporting that Simply Audiobooks is about to offer more than 5000 DRM-free products from Random House. This means Simply Audiobooks joins other download companies such as eMusic in offering audiobooks in formats that can be far used across many more devices than rights-managed distributions from companies such as Audible.
The Random House books will be downloaded as straightforward mp3 files. This means they can be played on almost any digital audio device, from big, expensive iPods, to the cheapest give-away mp3 player. This means, of course, that they can also be easily copied and distributed elsewhere across the internet, or onto CD. And that is what the publishing industry as a whole fears.
These explorations into unshackled content are a positive forward step for the consumer and although publishers may feel a sting in immediate profits from not exacting complete control over distribution, it does help to segue into a better attitude towards their new media savvy audience.
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