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Audiblegate

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Re: Audiblegate

#351

Post by eru »

iqanq wrote: post #160
eru wrote: post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

VAT is baked into retail prices in Germany. And retail prices are typically either something round or end in .99 or so; ie not arbitrary. So it's unlikely their German prices would just take the same input as eg Dutch prices and changed the VAT around.

I know how VAT works. If the government changes the VAT overnight then prices won't round to .99 until merchants (or Amazon themselves) change the base price again. I don't see the issue.

I mentioned this, because American retail prices as quoted typically don't include their equivalent of VAT.

Re: Audiblegate

#352

Post by mchusma »

jsnell wrote: post #15
axxl wrote: post #11

The twitter thread and the accompanying website don't quite tell me what's going on besides 'not as much money as expected'. But I can't quite see what the 'Net Sales' problem is, it's just stated as "less money" for no reason? Although I am tired so maybe something just isn't clicking. I don't doubt that the terms of the deal are poor though. I had wondered for a while how the credit system worked, and if the increa…

The site has more details in other articles. They're not worth reading. There's no substance just a lot of charged language. And I'm really annoyed at spending any time at all on reading this. The narrators don't get paid by the retail price (and the contract doesn't suggest they would). Basically Audible splits the money spent on credits among the books that the credits were spent on in proportion to the number of c…

I'd say the list price for audiobooks is deliberately high to make the subscriptions attractive. It worked on me.

Re: Audiblegate

#353

Post by gambiting »

capybaradive wrote: post #335
gambiting wrote: post #149

I'm honestly curious about this statement, maybe someone can explain - the author seems to be upset about this part: "where the consumer could return their AB whenever they pleased, and the PRODUCER shouldered the cost." ....as opposed to who? When you return an item to amazon within their returns policy, who do you think pays you back for that? Is the author assuming that when their book gets "returned" for any reas…

i believe the issue is that audible is marketed as allowing returns at _any_ time in the future, which is a pretty extraordinary return policy that leads to more subscribers. but then the producer has to shoulder the costs of this incredibly lenient return policy.

How is that different to deciding to sell your goods through Costco or Walmart and then complaining that their returns policy allows customers to return anything for any reason basically with no time limit if you complain enough?

Like, the author knows the policy if they decide to sell through Audible. It comes with a massive userbase, userbase which potentially exists because of a decent returns policy. If they think they can make more money on a platform which doesn't allow returns, then they are welcome to try - it's not like amazon has monopoly here, plenty of other places to buy and listen to audiobooks from.

Re: Audiblegate

#354

Post by parkingrift »

ohyoutravel wrote: post #222
parkingrift wrote: post #214

> As AB producers, we're supposed to get 40% if we host our AB exclusively in Audible, or 25% if we go 'wide' and use other retailers. This should be absolutely illegal.

People should be able to contract for whatever they want, provided it isn’t illegal. This doesn’t seem usurious or anything like that, what’s your particular objection?

Audible is abusing their dominant position to destroy competing audio book publishers. It’s not the agreement itself, but that it’s an agreement by the dominant player in the market.

Re: Audiblegate

#355

Post by Tepix »

michael_michael wrote: post #334
Tepix wrote: post #285

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It's a gamble for everyone except Audible. The gamble is this: you will spend thousands of dollars producing an audiobook. In exchange you will get distribution on the biggest audiobook marketplaces in the world: Audible, Amazon, iTunes. Audible and Amazon are the same thing. iTunes: Can't everyone get his/her audiobook on iTunes? I don't think producing content and then getting 13% of the proceeds is appealing. Ne…

> Audible and Amazon are the same thing. I'm acutely aware of this having worked there. They're the same thing to you, but not to most authors. Seeing their [audio]book come up in an Amazon search is distinctly different, even if it all leads you to the same place. > iTunes: Can't everyone get his/her audiobook on iTunes? No. At least not when I worked there. Audible was the only way to get into the audiobooks sectio…

Looks like there are a few options now:

https://itunespartner.apple.com/books/partner-search

Re: Audiblegate

#356

Post by LeFantome »

darkerside wrote: post #219
krageon wrote: post #184

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You are describing incompetence born from undirected malice. While it is true the malice did not lead directly to the greedy behaviour, it leads to an absolute lack of continuous knowledge (due to employees constantly leaving the company). The fact that this is not addressed in a way that actually works makes it at least indirectly purposeful. In that sense, Amazon as an entity is in fact being greedy and it is also…

Agreed, feels like directed incompetence. If the errors were in the other direction, I wonder how quickly Amazon would direct focus to it.

Without data, my default assumption is that there are lots of cases where things are being done wrong that are not in Amazon’s favour. The “directed incompetence” theory assumes that clueless people are being intentionally allowed to be clueless with the full knowledge of somebody less clueless. I find it easier to believe, without evidence, that the cluelessness exists at all levels.

Re: Audiblegate

#357

Post by phs318u »

ramchip wrote: post #155
phs318u wrote: post #55

I don't doubt that Amazon's practices are shady. Creating obscure and complex pricing plans out of seemingly straightforward fees has become something of an art-form on AWS. Who here has not been hit with an unexpected charge? What I honestly find hard to believe though, is the popularity of audio-books. How do you all focus on the material if you're doing other things? Or am I mistakenly assuming the mode of consump…

Isn't it the same as podcasts? I listen while exercising, folding laundry, standing in a commuter train, etc.

Haha, I guess, though I confess - I don't/can't do podcasts for the same reason.

Re: Audiblegate

#358

Post by phs318u »

alar44 wrote: post #70
phs318u wrote: post #55

I don't doubt that Amazon's practices are shady. Creating obscure and complex pricing plans out of seemingly straightforward fees has become something of an art-form on AWS. Who here has not been hit with an unexpected charge? What I honestly find hard to believe though, is the popularity of audio-books. How do you all focus on the material if you're doing other things? Or am I mistakenly assuming the mode of consump…

Are you seriously asking how someone can listen to something and do another thing at the same time?

I'm asking how people can focus on two things at a time. I assume that an audiobook (or podcast) requires focus - otherwise are you really "getting it" or just getting a sense of it?

I can certainly understand during a commute (especially on public transport, or if most of your commute is a traffic jam) because the level of conscious attention required on the non-listening task is close to zero.

I admit to listening to music while doing other stuff - but I'm not focusing on the music. It's just a soundtrack - no need to remember plot lines, or make sure I don't miss critical story elements.

Re: Audiblegate

#359

Post by selfhoster11 »

mahogany wrote: post #300
selfhoster11 wrote: post #211

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Point me to an Audible alternative that has remotely as good selection and pricing in the UK, and I'll have a look at it. I don't like the subscription model and wish there was an alternative.

For those in the US that are reading: you can generally check out audiobooks for free at your local library. Unfortunately I don't know how libraries work in the UK.

They also have this, but if the local library skimps on their audiobook provider, the selection is abysmal. I literally once closed the tab in disgust after seeing how few good books were in offer in a library where I lived, and that was a very gentrified area so they definitely could afford something better.
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