Reading connects your mind, but listening vibrates your heart
Audiobook apps have changed the way people read books. Today’s people are so busy that they hardly find enough time to read anything and mostly inclined to listening than reading.
In the past few years, audiobook apps have evolved like a digital entertainer who narrates a story that amazes the ears. Amazon when launched its Audible app revolutionized the entire industry.
And today, many iconic celebrities are working as audiobook narrators behind these apps and entertaining the audience.
Audiobook apps have created many jobs and earning opportunities. If you love to narrate a story, you can earn a lot by working as an audiobook narrator. If you want to establish a business model by a mobile app, you can create an audiobook app with a paid subscription model and you will start making money.
The future of audiobooks is growing and will be amazing tomorrow. Here in this, I will tell you how audiobook apps can be superb money making idea.
App like Audible has given a boost to Audiobook app development. Therefore, you shouldn’t miss investing in such apps which can bring surprising results.
So, let’s begin.
What is an Audiobook App?
An Audiobook app is a mobile application that gives voice recording of a book or text content or other pieces of work. In simple words, it is a mobile app that offers audiobooks to users.
Why you should create an Audiobook app?
Audiobook apps are the fastest-growing segment in the publishing industry. Many retailers have understood that audiobook app development is worth investing in, and publishers find audiobooks the best way to promote their content or catalogs.
So, next time you settle down with your favorite book, you might look for a set of headphones instead of eReader.
Why?
Audiobooks are growing significantly leaving behind other popular voice based content like
Podcast. The audiobook market is projected to rise at a rate of 27.0% in revenue from 2019 to $19.39B by 2027.
The global audiobook market is observing a large growth as many people are being inclined to listen to the audible version of content, books, poetry and novel of multiple genres.
How Amazon’s Audible app revolutionized the audiobook market?
The primary reason why the audiobook industry is so hot is the popularity of Amazon’s Audible app. It is the first kind of a mobile application for listening to audiobooks with great storytelling and human narration.
The industry has seen a dramatic shift in consumer interest and inclination for voice-based content.
Before Audible, listening to audiobooks meant purchasing CDs, or downloading files to PC and then copying them to an MP3 player or mobile phone. Audible app has enabled users to listen to audiobooks directly on their smartphones, which are always portable and handy.
In addition to this, Amazon’s one more product has given a boom in the industry- the Audiobook Creation Exchange (ACX). This ACX is a marketplace for authors, publishers, narrators, and rights holders to create and exchange audiobooks.
After the first success, Audible brings its delighted version called Audible Suno specifically for the Indian audience. This app hits millions of app downloads and created a sensation on the Internet.
Watching this changing scenario, it is not surprise that this industry is growing so quickly that it would attract developers and investors who want to make money by an audiobook application.
Famous audiobook apps currently available in the market 2021:
- Audible
- Amazon Kindle
- Audiobook Player
- Google Play Books
- Kobo Books
- Scribd
- Serial Box
- Smart Audiobook Player
What is the cost of Audiobook app development?
How much does audiobook app development cost depends on the number of features you want to add and the selection of types of apps either Hybrid or Native.
The more features you add to your app, the higher will be the cost. However, to give a rough idea on average development cost varies from $20-$70 to $110-$190 per hour.
Depending on the number of hours taken in the app development, it may cost you around $10,000 – $12,000.
How audiobook apps can give you multiple business models?
Audiobook apps offer many business models to make money. App developers and investors need to choose their genre and target audience for their content or audiobook. For example, Amazon created a dedicated app Audible Suno particularly for the Indian people, which got successful because it resonated with their audience’s taste.
If you want to develop an Audiobook app and set up a business model through this, here are the methods that you can use in your plan.
1. Paid subscription model based on monthly credits
You can build an audiobook app and offer various audiobooks to users with an initial 30-day free trial. Audible app allows users to choose different types of subscription plans based on monthly credits.
This pricing model has been proven successful not only by Audible but also by other famous audiobook services including Audiobooks.com, Kobo Audiobook. All of these services use the same subscription model where users pay to get access to one audiobook per month.
If you can offer great audiobooks that have potential to delight the audience, you can build a large user base through this subscription based model.
2. Offer unlimited access subscription
Not all audiobook apps use a subscription model based on per month credits. For example, Playster offers two monthly plans with unlimited audiobook listening.
This is a $14.95 per month plan that enables users to access over 100,000 audiobook listening. However, access to premium audiobooks costs $29.95 monthly.
Why it is so?
Often, users sign up for the lowest priced subscription plan to find out all audiobooks they want to listen. It simply means you are offering many products (not premium) at a single and low-cost plan.
3. Provide jobs to voice artists and earn from customers
Once you develop audiobook app, time comes to fill the app with its products, which is audiobooks. Your app is actually a marketplace where you are inviting users to listen to your audiobooks.
At the same time, you also need voice artists or audiobook narrators to give a human voice to your book and convert it into an audiobook.
In this process, you will invite voice actors for creating audiobooks and by this process, you are giving them jobs. Thus, it will make your app a platform of talented people who want to show their best skills and you can utilize them to offer something best to your customers.
4. Take advantage from Journalism
The demand for apps that present content into voice is increasing tremendously these days. Voice has become a new force for engaging the audience with the content.
Therefore, the usage of apps that convert text content into voice based content is being utilized in different industries.
And Journalism sector is expected to utilize these apps more enthusiastically. Recently in 2020, the world’s most prestigious Journalist The New York Times acquired Audm app for converting its long form content into audio.
This app actually converts text based journalism into audio content which is narrated by top voice artists.
This Audm app has been developed by a US based startup in 2017, and it got huge popularity in just few years. Use of AI-based features and human voice melody made this app highly attractive for offering content as an enjoyable audio piece.
It means, this industry is now utilizing the power of human voice into content and engaging more audience, and this is making them highly successful as well.
So, here is a chance for you. If you are an aspiring entrepreneur or startup, you can build a mobile app that can help industry to engage more productively with its customers. And today, journalism sector highly needs such apps.
5. Build your own fanbase
Audiobook listeners are fans. They have their own interest in particular a genre. A fiction lover would always love to listen to fascinated storytelling, and a person who likes mysteries would search for an investigating audiobook.
They will come again if they find any audiobook amazing or worth to listening. By providing audiobooks of different genres, you are building a fanbase of your app.
This will give you an opportunity to make loyal customers in long-term scale and create a sustainable revenue system.
6. Benefit from easy competition
Of course, you are not as rich as Amazon who can invest a lot of resources to create an app like Audible. But the point is here that creating audiobooks doesn’t cost so much. You simply need to find the best narrators and a robust system to offer audiobooks to customers.
The process is easy, therefore; there are many apps which are earning well despite the dominance of Audible app in the market.
Take the above example of Audm app, which has been created by a startup company, and its powerful features of converting content into audio made this app highly successful.
If you have a unique app concept that can offer something enjoyable and helpful, you can do a big thing with a small idea.
7. Create a dedicated marketplace like ACX
Amazon has a dedicated marketplace called ACX, for audiobook creation. Here audiobooks are created through ACX and sold on Audible app. Right holders get 25 percent of all revenue if the audiobook is not exclusive to audible, and 40 percent share if sold on Audible.
It means ACX is a marketplace as well as audiobook creation platform that invites voice actors, audiobook publishers, or sellers and offers them what they are looking for.
Your app will need audiobooks. For this, either you will create it at your own or buy it from another place. Creating audiobooks at your own will take a lot of time, money, and effort.
Instead of this, you can find more realistic ways to fill your app with eBook content and then invite voice artists to convert it into an audiobook.
To implement this process, you will need a dedicated system like ACX (Audiobook Creation Exchange) for authors, literary agents, publishers, and other right holders who can connect with narrators, audio engineers, recording studios, and other voice producers who are capable of creating a complete audiobook for your app.
What is the goal behind it?
It will fill your app with a great number of audiobooks. The more you have audiobooks, the higher you have products to offer to your customers.
What is the future of audiobook apps?
Use of AI in Audiobooks will boost
Amazon’s Aubile app is already using AI features to give personalized recommendations of audiobooks to its customers.
Just like Netflix is using auto-generated and personalized thumbnails for its movies, the same technique can be used in audiobook apps to recommend audiobooks to customers according to their preference and interest.
Apart from this, AI is helping developers to advance text-to-speech technology like Natural Voice Recording.
While AI is far from matching the quality of human voice performance, but at some levels, AI has managed to imitate human speech and convert content into engaging content. Thus, AI will empower Audiobook app development.
Convergence of Media
Listening to a book has become a new fashion in the industry today. Booklovers now prefer reading and listening at the same time. Therefore, there is a huge demand for mixing different types of content into a single form.
And here, audiobooks app can play an influential role in the convergence of media to offer customers a mix of different technologies. Apps can help media agencies for enabling their audience to listen to blogs, news, events, and so on.
Auto-Translation
Market scope is not just limited to converting readers to listeners. There is a growing scope of mobile applications which can offer auto-translation service to people across the globe.
App that can make stories available for listening in local or regional languages and accents can open up a huge market opportunity specifically for self-help category.
If you create a mobile app that can translate millions of books in 100+ languages for the global audience with native accent, you can make a big change in the entire industry.
Smart Speakers will give extra wings to audiobooks
Smart speakers like Amazon Echo, Google Home, and Apple Home Pod are giving an extra place to connect with audiobook listeners. Google recently started selling audiobooks in Google Play, which means people can listen to audiobooks with Google Home speaker.
According to a report suggested by Audiobook Publisher Association, 19% of the audiobook listeners have already listened to an audiobook on their smart speaker device.
As the adoption of smart speakers is rising, this will pave the way for audiobooks and eventually leverage audiobook apps.
Conclusion
Audiobook sector is hot and growing fast. Therefore, developing an audiobook app could be a great idea to set up a business model.
Just a few years ago, eBooks were popular, and now audiobooks are booming by offering enjoyable audio content. This is surely the best time to take early advantage of this trend.
If you have an idea for readers, we have technology to make it possible. eSearch Logix is a reputed mobile app development company which can help you build a high-class audiobook app. Schedule a free consultation and discuss your project with our expert developers.
