Bose Wireless
My chiropractor introduced me to audio recordings back in the early 80’s. I’ve been a fan ever since. First motivational tapes (yes, tapes), then books on tape, CD’s and now mp3’s and podcasts. What recently made the experience even better was my purchase of a Bose headset–wireless.
It was an impulse buy. I wanted to listen to something on a flight and had the wrong guzzinta to plug in my current model of listening device. I’d been wanting a noise-canceling set of headphones for awhile, but finally took the plunge at the airport. FYI, not the best place for any shopping adventure, especially technology.
My new source of joy was exponentially elevated at today’s Women’s Media Group (WMG) lunch where the topic was Leveraging Trends in Audiobook Publishing. I want to share my takeaways with you.
- Two billion hours of audio were downloaded globally in 2017.
- One of the greatest growth opportunities in listening is the home/smart speaker systems like Alexa.
- Charles Dickens is acknowledged as the first ‘podcaster’ in that he serialized his works.
- CD sales are surprisingly stable.
- Though Audible is still ‘king’, Walmart and Google are creating their own audio content. The rule of thumb is, wherever there’s content, audio formatting will follow.
There were over 100 women gathered at the lunchtime event. I had the pleasure of sitting next to Paula Rizzo whom I’ve met and been taught by. It looked like she had a new business card, so I requested one even though she’s in my database. “No phone number?” I noted upon examination. “No one calls anymore,” Paula replied. That stopped me in my tracks for a moment. Worth mentioning…
Robin Whitten, the founder and editor of AudioFile Magazine, celebrating 25 years, hosted the panel of experts and opened by saying that when she started her publication, she had to constantly explain what an audiobook was. I got to talk to Nita Basu, another panelist, of Hachette Book Group during the mingling time and found out that her favorite current project is the Sally Field memoir written about in the NYTimes today.
Beyond all this inspirational discussion, I also got recommendations to listen to:
- Snap Judgment
- Behind the Mic
- Ear Hustle
- Extreme Ownership – top audio business book currently
- You Must Remember This
Finally, here are some of the books I’ve listened to and loved recently:
Happy listening! I’d love to hear about your favorites too.
As a Readers Advisor in Darien,
I often recommend audiobooks. Your local library may have Hoopla or Libby by Overdrive which are fantastic sources to access thousands of excellent e-books, audiobooks and steam movies for free! Now to check out those wireless earphones, Jane! They look like a must:)
@Jill Thank you for these great audio resources! I will def check them out. The NYPL system has so much to offer. I’d be surprised if they don’t have these you mention. I hope you do get the headphones. LMK how you like them. There’s no turning back!
Thanks for the recommendations Jane! I’m alwsys looking for something new to listen to. ❤️ Liz
@Liz I’d love to hear what you’ve been listening to as well. There’s SO MUCH content out there, but personal recommendations are my favorite way to add to my list.