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| Developer | Audible, a subsidiary ofAmazon |
|---|---|
| Launch date | 1995; 31 years ago (1995) |
| Platform(s) | Fire OS,Android,iOS,macOS,Windows,web browser,Wear OS,WatchOS,Windows Phone |
| Pricing model | Variable subscription and a la carte |
| Website | www |
Audible is an American onlineaudiobook andpodcast service that allows users to purchase and stream audiobooks and other forms of spoken-word content. This content can be purchased individually or under a subscription model in which the user receives "credits" that can be redeemed for content monthly and receive access to a curated on-demand library of content. Audible is the United States' largest audiobook producer and retailer.[1][2] The service is owned by Audible, a wholly owned subsidiary ofAmazon.com, Inc., headquartered inNewark, New Jersey.[3][4]
The company's first product was an eponymousportable media player known as the Audible MobilePlayer; released in 1997, the device contained around fourmegabytes of on-boardflash memory storage, which could hold up to two hours of audio. To use the player,consumers would download an audiobook from the Audible website.[5][6]
On March 11, 1999,Microsoft invested $11 million into the company.[7][8] On October 24, 1999, Audible suffered a setback when its CEO, Andrew J. Huffman, died.[9] Development proceeded, however, leading to Audible licensing theACELP codec for its downloads in 2000,[10] and Amazon bought a 5 percent stake in the then-publicly traded company the same year.[8]
In 2003, Audible reached an agreement withApple to be the exclusive provider of audiobooks foriTunes Music Store. This agreement ended in 2017 due toantitrust rulings in theEuropean Union.[11]
In 2005, the service released "Audible Air," which allowed users to download audiobooks directly toPDAs andsmartphones. Its content would update automatically, downloading chapters as required that would then delete themselves after they had been listened to.[12] In 2006, the company released its A-List collection, which had famous works read byAnne Hathaway andAnnette Bening.[8]
In 2007, CEODonald Katz moved the company headquarters with 125 employees from suburbanWayne, New Jersey to Newark.[8] The new headquarters was a high-rise building on One Washington Park.[4]
On January 31, 2008,Amazon announced they would purchase Audible for about $300 million.[13] In April of that year, Audible began producing exclusive science fiction and fantasy audiobooks under its "Audible Frontiers" imprint. At launch, 25 titles were released.[14]
In May 2011, the service launchedAudiobook Creation Exchange (ACX), an online rights marketplace and production platform.[15][16][17] The platform was so successful that in 2012, Audible reported it had received more titles from ACX than from its top three audio providers combined.[16] In March 2012, Audible launched the A-List Collection, a series showcasing Hollywood stars includingClaire Danes,Colin Firth,Anne Hathaway,Dustin Hoffman,Samuel L. Jackson,Diane Keaton,Nicole Kidman, andKate Winslet performing great works of literature. Firth's performance ofGraham Greene'sThe End of the Affair was named Audiobook of the Year at theAudie Awards in 2013.
The service began offering its narration workshops at acting schools, includingJuilliard andTisch School of the Arts; in 2013, Audible's CEO speculated that the company was the largest single employer of actors in the New York area.[18]
In September 2012, Audible introduced a feature known as "Whispersync for Voice," which allows users to continue audiobooks from where they left off reading them onAmazon Kindle.[19]
In 2016, the company announced that it would open a new facility in Newark, New Jersey, the "Innovation Cathedral," in a former Second Presbyterian Church, last used in 1995.[4]
In July 2019, a new feature was announced called Audible Captions, in which machine-generated text would be displayed alongside the audio narration. The company was sued by theAssociation of American Publishers shortly thereafter forcopyright violation.[20][21] The lawsuit was settled in early 2020, with Audible agreeing not to implement the Captions feature without obtaining express permission.[22]
In November 2020, Audible modified its return and exchange policy in response to concerns by authors, who felt that customers were abusing the policy to listen to audiobooks without paying.[23]
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Audible's content includes more than 200,000 audio programs from audiobook publishers, broadcasters, entertainers, magazine and newspaper publishers and business information providers.[24] Content includes books of all genres, as well asradio shows (classic and current), speeches, interviews,stand-up comedy, and audio versions of periodicals such asThe New York Times andThe Wall Street Journal.
The service offered two monthly subscription tiers, "Audible Gold" and "Audible Platinum," priced at $14.95 and $22.95 USD respectively: Both services allow users to obtain credits which can be used to purchase audio books (one whole credit for Gold, and two whole credits on Platinum), while Platinum also included additional incentives such as exclusive discounts. On August 24, 2020, Audible replaced both plans with "Audible Premium Plus" (a renaming of Gold, though with the Platinum pricing and credits grandfathered for existing subscribers), and introduced a new $7.95 subscription tier known as "Audible Plus." Both tiers include access to a curated on-demand library of audiobooks, podcasts, and other original productions, while the Audible Plus tier does not include credits.[25][26][27]
Once a customer has purchased a title, it remains in that person's library and can be downloaded or streamed at any time.[25][26] As of April 1, 2019, credits expire one year after issue, and credits prior to this day expire after two years.[27]
![[icon]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aWiki_letter_w_cropped.svg) | This sectionneeds expansion with: description of the function and roles of Amazon Studios. You can help byadding missing information.(August 2024) |
In May 2015, Audible hired Eric Nuzum, formerly VP of programming atNPR, as its SVP of original content development.[28] He resigned in 2018 after the original podcast staff at Audible were laid off.[29][30]
In 2016, the service introduced an on-demand service known as "Audible Channels," which features short-form audio programming from various outlets, including news and other original productions. Access is included as part of Audible's subscription, and also became available toAmazon Prime subscribers.[31] Nuzum compared this strategy to original content created byHBO orNetflix,[32][33] and stated that the service deliberately avoided use of the word "podcast" as to not alienate listeners unfamiliar with the concept.[34][35]
Among its original productions areWhere Should We Begin?, a relationship podcast withEsther Perel;[36]Sincerely, X, a podcast featuring anonymousTED Talks;[37]Ponzi Supernova, a chronicle of theMadoff investment scandal;[38]The Butterfly Effect, a podcast series byJon Ronson chronicling the impact ofPornHub oninternet pornography;[39] andWest Cork, atrue crime podcast investigating an unsolved 1996 murder inWest Cork, Ireland.[40]
In August 2018, it was reported that Nuzum was stepping down, and that Amazon had laid off most of the short-form content staff. This move came amid a shift in Audible's original content strategy, including a greater focus on "audiobook-first" deals with writers.[41][42][43]
The service added a new tier for subscribers to access Audible Originals, announced in fall 2020, called Premium Plus, including over 11,000 titles (as of the launch).[44] These titles included earlier original material, plus new audio productions featuring such creators asCommon,Jamie Lee Curtis,Kate Mara,Harvey Fierstein,Michael Caine andJesse Eisenberg.[45] More recent releases include Newark MayorRas Baraka's memoir[46] and two works byBrown Sugar screenwriterMichael Elliot.[47]
In 2024, Audible announced new audio projects including an audio adaptation ofGeorge Orwell’sNineteen Eighty-Four titled "1984" starringAndrew Garfield,Cynthia Erivo,Andrew Scott andTom Hardy.Kerry Washington andDaniel Dae Kim performed main roles in an adaptation of theBroadway playDavid Henry Hwang's "Yellow Face" exploring themes ofcultural appropriation.[48]
Similarly to other major app-based services in 2025, Audible has broadplatform support for major platforms including Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, and Kindle, encompasing various brands of personal computers, mobile phones, and smart devices such assmart TVs,smart speakers,in-car entertainment systems, and accessibility devices.[49]
Linux devices are not supported by Audible. Instead, users can usethird-party software designed to play Audible'sDRM-encoded file format (AAX) file format, such as OpenAudible, or break the DRM-encoding and convert the files into an open one, such asMP3.[50][51]
ForiOS devices, users can access Audible on theiPhone 6 and later,iPad mini 4 and later, and all macOS devices runningmacOS Ventura 13.3 or higher.[52]
TheAndroid app cannot be downloaded directly from Audible, but must be obtained via eitherGoogle Play orGalaxy Store.[53] The software is compatible with Android OS 9.0 and above.[54] As of October 2025, the latest version contains code signatures of four tracking companies.[55]
ForWindows devices, Audible provides the AudibleSync app, compatible withWindows 10 andWindows 11, which also allows for audiobook transfers to MP3 players and accessibility devices.[56]
In addition to mobile and desktop devices, Audible supportsKindle devices, enabling audiobook playback directly one-readers. Audible is also compatible with variousaccessibility devices for people withvisual impairments or blindness, including Swiss engineering firm Bones AG's Milestone 212 and 312 andEssilorLuxottica Humanware's Victor Reader Stream 2 and 3.[57]
The following qualities have been available from Audible. Currently, only the "Format 4" and "Enhanced" formats are available for download.[58]
| Format name | Bitrate | Sample rate | Bit depth | Channel | MBytes/hour | Container | Quality description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Audible Enhanced Audio (.aax)* | 32 - 128 kbit/s | 22.050 - 44.10 kHz | Unknown | Mono or stereo | 28.8 | MPEG-4 Part 14 | AAC sound |
| Format 4 (.aa) | 32 kbit/s | 22.050 kHz | 16bit | Mono | 14.4 | MP3 | MP3 sound |
| Format 3 (.aa) | 16 kbit/s | 22.050 kHz | 16bit | Mono | 7.2 | Unknown | FM radio sound |
| Format 2 (.aa) | 8 kbit/s | 22.050 kHz | 16bit | Mono | 3.7 | Unknown | AM radio sound |
Audible's .aa file format encapsulates sound encoded in eitherMP3 or theACELP speech codec, but includes unauthorized-playback prevention by means of an Audible username and password, which can be used on up to four computers and three smartphones at a time. Licenses are available for schools and libraries.
Audible's content can only be played on selected mobile devices. Its software does enable users to burn a limited number of CDs for unrestricted playback, resulting in CDs that can be copied or converted to unrestricted digital audio formats.
Because of the CD issue, Audible's use ofdigital rights management on its .aa format has earned it criticism.[59] While multiple software products are capable of removing theAudible DRMprotection by re-encoding in other formats,[60] Audible has been quick to threaten the software makers with lawsuits for discussing or promoting this ability, as happened with River Past Corp andGoldWave Inc.[61] Responses have varied, with River Past removing the capability from their software, and GoldWave retaining the capability, but censoring discussions about the ability in its support forums.[citation needed] But there are still many other software tools from non-US countries which easily bypass the DRM control of Audible by various methods, including sound recording, virtual CD burning, and even using a media plugin library once provided by Audible themselves.[62] After Apple's abandonment of most DRM measures, Amazon's downloads ceasing to use it, Audible's DRM system is one of the few remaining in place.
Many Audible listings displayed to non-U.S. customers aregeo-blocked. According to Audible, this is because the publisher who has provided the title does not have the rights to distribute the file in a given region. Logged in are unable to see titles that are unavailable for purchase.[63]
There were hopes[64] that Amazon, after its purchase of Audible, would remove the DRM from its audiobook selection, in keeping with the current trend in the industry. Nevertheless, Audible's products continue to have DRM, similar to the policy of DRM-protecting theirKindle e-books, which have DRM that allows for a finite, yet undisclosed number of downloads at the discretion of the publisher, however Audible titles that are DRM free can be copied to the Kindle and made functional.[65]
Audible is able to offer DRM-free titles for content providers who wish to do so.[66] FFmpeg 2.8.1+ is capable of playing Audible's .aa and .aax file formats natively.[67][68]
Audible operates theAudiobook Creation Exchange, which enables individual authors or publishers to work with professional actors and producers to create audiobooks, which are then distributed to Amazon andiTunes. Currently, the service is available to residents of the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Ireland.[69] Audible produces 10,000 titles a year and may be the largest employer of actors inNew York City.[70]
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