Audible launches a cheaper subscription plan for access to its exclusive podcasts and audio content
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Audible, an Amazon company, is separating its exclusive audio content out into its own plan today with a cheaper subscription that doesn’t include credits to download audiobooks outside its catalog. Audible Plus, for $7.95 a month, is the company’s cheapest plan, giving subscribers access to Audible’s collection of exclusive audio content, like podcasts.
In the coming weeks, Audible plans to launch more new, exclusive content, including a podcast made with Pushkin Industries, author Malcom Gladwell’s podcast company, and the NBA about the continuing impact of Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls, as well as multiple audio narratives starring celebrities like Alicia Silverstone, Michael Caine, and Josh Gad. The company says it has over 68,000 hours’ worth of content in its catalog, among more than 11,000 works. It’s unclear how much of this catalog is third-party versus exclusive content.
Alongside its new plan, Audible is consolidating its Audible Gold and Platinum plans into something called Audible Premium Plus. For $14.95 a month, subscribers will gain access to the full Audible catalog, like Plus subscribers, but will also receive one credit to be used for any content in the Audible library, regardless of price or length. (Platinum users who used to receive two credits a month will still receive two at the $22.95 per month price.) The plans are considered to be in a “preview” phase right now with the idea being that feedback will be considered for the official launch. Existing subscribers can access the Audible Plus catalog starting today, and new customers who want to try Audible Plus can start signing up on August 27th.
Membership Plans -- US onlyAudible Plus Q&As --
rental onlyFrequently Asked Questions (see link for detailed answers)
- Can I view the entire Audible Plus Catalog? -- NO
- Do titles in the Audible Plus Catalog change or rotate? -- YES
- I’m already a member. Can I listen to the titles in the Audible Plus Catalog? -- YES
- How do I know if a title is INCLUDED or if I need a credit to select it? -- see link
- If I cancel my membership, can I keep titles from the Audible Plus Catalog? -- NO
- How can I tell which Audible plan is right for me? -- see link
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Apparently my existing grandfathered plan includes Audible plus. Can't really say that it does much for me.
Quote pwalker8
Apparently my existing grandfathered plan includes Audible plus. Can't really say that it does much for me.
Yeah, quite underwhelming and not worth $8 a month as a stand-alone rental plan.
I was an Audible Gold subscriber for probably 10 years, until cancelling this spring when my office closed and I began working from home. Ironically without all the commuting time, I have little time for audiobooks, and probably have a couple of hundred things I have yet to listen to. If the Audible Exclusive content they have been producing is any indication, it is not worth $7.99/mo. Podcasts? My cup is over-full already (again, I don’t have time and have to delete about 90% of what I download just to keep up somewhat).
That, and they have made a mess of the Audible app with the filters, genres, and collections. I’m sure they meant well, but it doesn’t work well, and it hasn’t improved since they added these features.
For example, you would think you could select an item and add it to a collection, wouldn’t you? Well, you cannot. Instead you have to open a collection and search through your ENTIRE library to find things to add to it. Then repeat that with each collection you want to set up. No thanks.
I keep writing to Amazon and asking them to PLEASE let the Kindle app access all of my Audible content and use it to organize my reading in one place (okay: they need more speed options and an End of chapter Sleep timer option), with Goodreads sharing, etc. I would love not to have to use the Audible app ever again. Apple Books, Play Books, Kobo, Nook all have ‘integrated’ ebook + audiobook apps.
BTW, with a tool called OpenAudible, you can point it to your library on Audible.com and it will download .AAX and convert to MP3 or M4A with one click (plus time and disk space).
I’m not sure what it will take for me to subscribe again - it will take quite awhile to work through what I’ve already purchased over the years, and I do not miss the pressure of having to use credits before they expire. Libby has a pretty good audiobook player for library books, and an option I’ll be using much more in the future.
Quote tomsem
I was an Audible Gold subscriber for probably 10 years, until cancelling this spring when my office closed and I began working from home. Ironically without all the commuting time, I have little time for audiobooks, and probably have a couple of hundred things I have yet to listen to. If the Audible Exclusive content they have been producing is any indication, it is not worth $7.99/mo. Podcasts? My cup is over-full already (again, I dont have time and have to delete about 90% of what I download just to keep up somewhat).
That, and they have made a mess of the Audible app with the filters, genres, and collections. Im sure they meant well, but it doesnt work well, and it hasnt improved since they added these features.
For example, you would think you could select an item and add it to a collection, wouldnt you? Well, you cannot. Instead you have to open a collection and search through your ENTIRE library to find things to add to it. Then repeat that with each collection you want to set up. No thanks.
I keep writing to Amazon and asking them to PLEASE let the Kindle app access all of my Audible content and use it to organize my reading in one place (okay: they need more speed options and an End of chapter Sleep timer option), with Goodreads sharing, etc. I would love not to have to use the Audible app ever again. Apple Books, Play Books, Kobo, Nook all have integrated ebook + audiobook apps.
BTW, with a tool called OpenAudible, you can point it to your library on Audible.com and it will download .AAX and convert to MP3 or M4A with one click (plus time and disk space).
Im not sure what it will take for me to subscribe again - it will take quite awhile to work through what Ive already purchased over the years, and I do not miss the pressure of having to use credits before they expire. Libby has a pretty good audiobook player for library books, and an option Ill be using much more in the future.
I agree with regards to the audible app. The two things I miss the most from it are series info and manual ordering of collections. Of course, I give them credit. For years they didn't seem to be making any useful enhancements to it, so maybe there is hope.
BTW, I liked openaudible so much that I payed for it. It's not perfect, but it is handy.
Quote tomsem
Im not sure what it will take for me to subscribe again - it will take quite awhile to work through what Ive already purchased over the years, and I do not miss the pressure of having to use credits before they expire. Libby has a pretty good audiobook player for library books, and an option Ill be using much more in the future.
I have no interest at all in Audibles proprietary content. Its really just a shill game to disguise that youre paying more for the good stuff. The deals, the sales, are not what they were. At this point, do long-term members even bother to look at the two-for-one sales? The books dont change.
I have no idea what the underlying economics of producing audiobooks are, but I suspect the celebrity talent we see (hear) more and more of doesnt come cheap. Its not like the days when a David Case was cranking em out in the hundreds to make his living. However, on the other hand, the skyrocketing popularity of audio could keep prices down, but its also an opportunity to raise them.
Im not commuting anymore either, but I still get through a lot of audiobooks. Ive got a lot of unheards and they and the library can keep me going. If I cant hear the book I want, I can find something else. As with texts, audiobooks ultimately are fungible. My bottom line is that the price point of $14.95 is more, much more, than Im will to spend per credit, and the add-ons provide no extra value for me at all.
Well, this is confusing. I'm a happy Silver plan subscriber, and I have no idea how/if that changes.
I saw the news on this yesterday and at first was excited, but after looking further into the details, not seeing how it would suit me. I am a Scribd rental subscriber and have been happy with their service, and while I like to listen to some of the Audible originals on occasion, not sure it's worth the price. I do not use them, or Spotify - who the article said were their main competitors in this area, for Podcasts. Since most podcasts are free, I'm not seeing a subscription reason if that is one area they will be focusing on.
I have seen some celebrity freebies with meditation and am curious if it's similar content and series, Again, interesting, but I'm not seeing it worth enough for another monthly fee. I'd have to see more samples of the service. I always enjoyed sale time at Audible, so if this opens up access to sale prices, that's a plus -- but those keep getting repeated so you can only stay interested in that as a reason for so long.
Quote Paperbackstash
I saw the news on this yesterday and at first was excited, but after looking further into the details, not seeing how it would suit me. I am a Scribd rental subscriber and have been happy with their service, and while I like to listen to some of the Audible originals on occasion, not sure it's worth the price. I do not use them, or Spotify - who the article said were their main competitors in this area, for Podcasts. Since most podcasts are free, I'm not seeing a subscription reason if that is one area they will be focusing on.
I have seen some celebrity freebies with meditation and am curious if it's similar content and series, Again, interesting, but I'm not seeing it worth enough for another monthly fee. I'd have to see more samples of the service. I always enjoyed sale time at Audible, so if this opens up access to sale prices, that's a plus -- but those keep getting repeated so you can only stay interested in that as a reason for so long.
I appreciated Audible because you could get a great deal using credits to trade for books, also I was a easy sale for add-ons. If I am buying a book for $15 I figure why not add the audio for $5? In such situations I would usually not make it through the audio anyway, so obviously I didnt need it. I cancelled my Audible subscription last month because I needed to tighten my belt due to work/income issues... buuuut I think I had more than 10 credits sitting in my account so I wasnt even using it. I ended up buying some Pimsleur courses just to spend them, and hey, I have already done several lessons
I see this Audible Plus as a means of raising the price for the credits and that was all I was ever in for. If the credits cost more than $10 each then whats the point?
I saw an offer for an annual membership for $10 a credit so I got it. I wouldn't pay more than that, since I usually get whisper sync books for $7.49. So it's exciting, for me, that I can use and decide on this Plus program at my leisure over the next 11 months.
Hopefully they will add a bar, like in Audible Escape, so I can quickly see which titles in my WL are Plus books.
