This month Edison Research reports on audio usage, library deals are examined and it’s hard not to encounter the big news at KKR with the sale of RBMedia and purchase of S&S. Further, the news digs into what the acquisitions mean for authors and consumers. Also prominent in the news is a host of A.I. concerns including its effects on creativity, productivity and production. If all of this has you reaching for an otherworldly audiobook or returning to the Barbie movie for a repeat viewing, check out the earpod news. Or sink into a soothing bath with an audiobook before heading to bed to dream.

The three bears of audiobooks leave their pudding on the table for our readers to determine which is just right, in this compilation of June and July 2023 news. From the too long/too short/just right category (Jan 6 chronicles, short form audiobooks, interview with Sarah Jaffe), to the too easy/too difficult/just right category (voice switching, narrating an autobiography, mom reads erotica) and the too passive/too aggressive/just right category (Tolstoy chill, deep fakes, growing Spanish sales). After you’ve had your pudding, settle down for a comfy read of the APA annual sales report to feel… just right.

This month’s news is all over the place, for example the article in which audiobook narrators foretell the impact of AI was found on 24 media outlets! But the subjects are all over the place too; the effects of the audiobook boom on the way writers write, cutting fees for creators, the neuroscience of listening, generational appeal of audiobooks in the Arab Region, the Indian Market gearing up for AI, an uplifting new audiobook of Mary Oliver’s life and works, and, just to prove once and for all that audiobooks are all over the place, read about audiobooks on the bus and at the gas station.

April celebrates audiobooks with awards in New York (Audies) and Scandinavian cities (Storytel). The art of audiobook narration is celebrated in the news this month from author reads, to the meaningful use of the pause, to the dynamics of a masterfully produced multi-cast. Read what disabled listeners have to say about A.I. narrators. Also this month; audiobooks and brain development, advertising in audiobooks, to recipe or not to recipe, new subscription offerings and additional A.I. considerations.

This Month, enjoy an NPR audiobook comic strip, predictions for advertising-in-audio listening experiences, the love of narration and listening, the growth of Welsh and Spanish markets, new offerings in Poland and Bengal, ethical considerations of AI, praise of the human voice and the possibilities of human voices and AI living in… support of one another. In addition, tune your earpods to a couple notable audiobook offerings.