eMusic Relaunches Audiobook Service as eStories
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eMusic, the online music subscription service that launched in the late '90s, is rebranding and relaunching its audiobook program under the new name eStories.
The subscription service will offer over 80,000 titles, unlimited cloud storage and allow customers to listen to their content on up to 10 devices. The relaunch follows the purchase of eMusic by Triplay in the fall.
eMusic entered the audiobook market in 2007, when it added audiobooks to its stable of digital music offerings. Although eMusic remained in the audiobook market, it was a very small player. With eStories, eMusic is dramatically increasing its investment in audiobooks.
The company is touting eStories as a low-cost alternative to the more dominant players in the audiobook market, the biggest of which is Amazon-owned Audible, with monthly subscription plans that begin at $11.99. (Audible's subscription plans, which come with an initial free month, start at $14.95.)
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Audible and Downpour have a new competitor. They offer a free 30-day trial with 1 free audiobook, but that requires a credit card. You can access their catalog without having to join to see if you like their content. Although their catalog is smaller than Audible and Downpour, their credits are $1 to $3 cheaper. They have multiple monthly and yearly plans with 1, 2, and 5 credits per month. They also have a 30-day return policy.
I signed up for the trial, but haven't picked my free book yet. When I do, I'll test out their app (available for Android & iOS). See below for more details.
eStories (formerly eMusic Audiobooks)
- Monthly --> $11.99/ book | $21.99/ 2 books | $49.99/ 5 books
- Annual --> $9.99/ book | $17.99/ 2 books | $39.99/ 5 books
- Trial --> free 30-day trial (incl 1 free book)
- Catalog --> 80,000+ titles
- Format --> Android & iOS -- powered by Findaway
- Offline --> offline listening allowed
- Devices --> 5~10 devices (depending on plan)
- Returns --> within 30 days
- Availability -->
- Owner --> eMusic | TriPlay
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eMusic is an online music and audiobook store that operates by subscription. In exchange for a monthly subscription eMusic users can download a fixed number of tracks to their MP3 players per month. eMusic was established in 1998, is headquartered in New York City with an office in London, and is owned by Dimensional Associates.
Beginning September 18, 2007, eMusic began to offer audiobooks in MP3 format.
eMusic was the first digital retailer to sell DRM-free downloadable audiobooks in the MP3 format beginning in 2007. Audible.com, its largest competitor, offers audiobooks with digital rights management in the .aa format.
On October 21, 2015, eMusic was acquired by Israeli media startup, TriPlay. The full terms of the deal have yet to be disclosed.
On July 14, 2016, eMusic launched eStories, an audiobook service that will offer 80,000 titles at a cost of $11.95 per title to use, plus 33 percent off additional purchases.
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