B&N to close their audiobook store

[6charlong]

Nate Hoffelder over on The Digital Reader is reporting that Barnes and Noble are closing down their sales of audiobooks as of June 30, 2014.

http://the-digital-reader.com/2014/0...on/#more-68327

[eschwartz]

This part is very important:

I will freely admit that I didn't know that B&N sold audiobooks, and given that this section is not easy to find on the B&N website I would not be surprised if most people were similarly unaware.

I wonder why they are doing so badly they closed down?

[tubemonkey]

I will freely admit that I didn't know that B&N sold audiobooks, and given that this section is not easy to find on the B&N website I would not be surprised if most people were similarly unaware.

Same here. They sold audiobooks?

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Same here. They sold audiobooks?

Yes.
I tried to buy some as xmas gifts a couple years back.
Emphasis on tried...

Less options is never good but an option you can't find/use does nobody any good. Fortunately I found what I wanted at Walmart.

[skinmaan]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Same here. They sold audiobooks?

B&N sells audiobooks using the OverDrive system. Audiobookstanddl.com and Books-a-Million use the same system, BooksOnBoard used it, as does some of the promotional audiobook services (HipDigital and Gives Media). I wish I could find an easier way to find out who all sells audiobooks using OverDrive, but I cannot find a comprehensive list.

[Poodlemom1]

Guess we know why they are closing the audiobook store.

[fjtorres]

BTW, whatever happened to the new, improved B&N.COM?
It was due in April?

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

They sold audiobooks?

Ever get the feeling B&N isn't really even trying to succeed? Of course they are, but when I saw this thread this was my reaction as well. I own around 800 audiobooks from pretty much every seller imaginable and had no idea B&N sold digital audiobooks. B&N would seem to be a natural place to get them from, but it never occurred to me they have/had them. Of course if they were using the OD setup like audiobookstanddl uses (WMA DRM for DRM'd stuff) I wouldn't likely have bought anyway.


I don't think most people know they sell digital movies either. They've had that set up for a while now and it took them forever (long after it was promised) to finally get an app out so folks could watch on their non-nook devices. Even among enthusiasts it's not very well known.

[Fbone]

I wonder if their contract with Overdrive ended. If Overdrive increased costs to retailers like they did to libraries, then goodbye.

[skinmaan]

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

Ever get the feeling B&N isn't really even trying to succeed? Of course they are, but when I saw this thread this was my reaction as well. I own around 800 audiobooks from pretty much every seller imaginable and had no idea B&N sold digital audiobooks. B&N would seem to be a natural place to get them from, but it never occurred to me they have/had them. Of course if they were using the OD setup like audiobookstanddl uses (WMA DRM for DRM'd stuff) I wouldn't likely have bought anyway.


I don't think most people know they sell digital movies either. They've had that set up for a while now and it took them forever (long after it was promised) to finally get an app out so folks could watch on their non-nook devices. Even among enthusiasts it's not very well known.

Everything I had seen through B&N was DRM-free. As a matter of fact, the only one of the sellers I know who did WMVs was AudiobookstandDl. Everyone else (that I've found to date) was DRM-free.

I have to admit, the movies bit was news to me. I'll have to look into that.

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by Fbone

I wonder if their contract with Overdrive ended. If Overdrive increased costs to retailers like they did to libraries, then goodbye.

I thought the increased costs to libraries were due to increased numbers of checkouts (due to ebooks & digital audiobooks increasing in popularity) which led to increased DRM fees which OD had to some extent been absorbing in some of their older deals with libraries. That and increased support and bandwidth requirements with the increased traffic.

Originally Posted by skinmaan

Everything I had seen through B&N was DRM-free. As a matter of fact, the only one of the sellers I know who did WMVs was AudiobookstandDl. Everyone else (that I've found to date) was DRM-free.

Books On Board did DRM'd WMA's for some titles too. Just like with the library it depended on the publisher and whether they required DRM or not. If B&N didn't do DRM'd WMA and only MP3 (the only formats OD offered) then they were missing a very large chunk of available audiobooks through OD.

OD has mentioned finally dropping WMA DRM, but it's unclear how many of those titles where DRM was required will continue to be part of OD's catalog in the future (or if the publishers will pull them).

[BearMountainBooks]

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

I thought the increased costs to libraries were due to increased numbers of checkouts (due to ebooks & digital audiobooks increasing in popularity) which led to increased DRM fees which OD had to some extent been absorbing in some of their older deals with libraries. That and increased support and bandwidth requirements with the increased traffic.



Books On Board did DRM'd WMA's for some titles too. Just like with the library it depended on the publisher and whether they required DRM or not. If B&N didn't do DRM'd WMA and only MP3 (the only formats OD offered) then they were missing a very large chunk of available audiobooks through OD.

OD has mentioned finally dropping WMA DRM, but it's unclear how many of those titles where DRM was required will continue to be part of OD's catalog in the future (or if the publishers will pull them).

Overdrive charges a fee just to use the system and I believe that cost went up by quite a bit. It was already a very expensive system from what my library told me--they had to go in with three other libraries to be part of it because of the expense. That expense is the one that went up.

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by BearMountainBooks

Overdrive charges a fee just to use the system and I believe that cost went up by quite a bit. It was already a very expensive system from what my library told me--they had to go in with three other libraries to be part of it because of the expense. That expense is the one that went up.

Right, I thought that was the fee that was covering DRM charges, bandwidth, developing websites for the libraries and increased tech support. It would make sense for it to go up with all of the increased usage and in return increased costs associated with that. Whether it's reasonable or not I have no idea, but so far I haven't seen libraries flocking to competing systems so I guess I figured they all charged similar admin fees.

[BearMountainBooks]

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

Right, I thought that was the fee that was covering DRM charges, bandwidth, developing websites for the libraries and increased tech support. It would make sense for it to go up with all of the increased usage and in return increased costs associated with that. Whether it's reasonable or not I have no idea, but so far I haven't seen libraries flocking to competing systems so I guess I figured they all charged similar admin fees.

Actually there are a number of libraries (including mine) that have other systems or are looking for them. Unfortunately, the other one at my library doesn't have a lot of books. The issue, of course, is always the same: getting the publishers onboard.

My librarian didn't break down what the cost was for--just the flat fee for being part of it period went up and it was already a fairly large cost. It does get used, but I am not sure it gets used enough for them to keep the system! I am hoping they do because I use it, but we'll see. I haven't asked for an update lately. I should go visit and do that!

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

Right, I thought that was the fee that was covering DRM charges, bandwidth, developing websites for the libraries and increased tech support. It would make sense for it to go up with all of the increased usage and in return increased costs associated with that. Whether it's reasonable or not I have no idea, but so far I haven't seen libraries flocking to competing systems so I guess I figured they all charged similar admin fees.

Hmm. This may be the reason that my library is changing to Axis 360, which I think is terrible.