Audible.com
Audio that speaks to you wherever you are™
Joe Flowers
CS453
Introduction
Audible converts audiobooks and other
spoken audio programs into digital files
Buy an audiobook from Audible and it’s
yours forever to listen to as many times
as you like. [1]
Ways To Listen
 Download and listen to audio on your
computer
 Streamed over the internet on your
computer
 Transfer audio from your computer to a
CD or AudibleReady player
 Proprietary file format, more compressed
than mp3’s [1]
Types of Content
 Non-fiction


Highly personalized listening drawn from sources such as
The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times [2]
Other
 Novels
 Proprietary content [3]



Magazine editions
Growing library of comedy
Joint venture with Random House
How To Find Content
 Search by title or author
 Browse by category
 Check out the best seller list
 Music review from the latest audio
magazines and newspapers
[1]
Get some audio!
 A la carte [6]

Buy on a title by title basis
 Subscription plans


Get one audio magazine, newspaper or radio program
plus one audiobook each month for just $14.95 a month.
Get two audiobooks each month for just $19.95 a month.
 Automated downloads


iTunes for Mac
AudibleManager for PC
Hardware requirements [4]
 PC

Windows 98 or higher
 Macintosh

OSX with iTunes 3 or above
 Hardware to listen




Audible Otis MP3 player (free with 1 yr
subscription)
Palm Handheld
Apple iPod
Other players…
History
 Founded by Jeffrey
Katz [3]
 Publicly traded since
the summer of 1999
[2]
 Microsoft invested
early on and now has
investments totaling
$15 million [5]
Partners
 Microsoft
 Amazon
 Random House [2]
 Joint marketing agreements with device
manufacturers including… [3]



Hewlett-Packard
Sony Electronics
Apple
Ipod integration [5]
 Integrates with
iTunes on OSX
 Comes with
AudibleManager for
PC [6]
 Receive $100 off a
new Apple iPod
when you purchase a
1 year subscription
[7]
Awards
 CNET editor’s choice [8]
 Named to Deloitte & Touche's
prestigious Technology Fast 50 Program
for New Jersey [9]
Growth [9]
Business Model [2]
“Audible was designed to become an extremely
profitable enterprise — and designed to get to
that state as the clear leader. This is a company
that does not need that many consumers
paying us on a regular basis to be a very
profitable enterprise, because of the
fundamental structure of the business model.
As we scale up the infrastructure needed to
serve large numbers of customers — because
of the efficient nature of the inventory and
delivery structure — it doesn’t need to scale
that heavily.”
Business Model (cont’d)
Target Operating Model: [3]
 Revenue - 100%
 Content Costs - 30%
 Marketing Costs - 25%
 Operation Costs - 15%
 Pre-tax Margin - 30%
Ownership - January 15, 2002
Above 5%: [3]
 Microsoft – 35.5 %
 Amazon.com – 6.7 %
 Donald Katz (founder) – 5.7 %
 Management/Directors – 8.8 %
Distribution [3]
 Audible.com
 Amazon.com
 Affiliates program
 Corporate Sites (B2B)
 Library program
Growth/Customer Base [3]
 Plan to add a couple of thousand hours of
content per quarter.
 No overseas advertising yet they have
customers in 100 nations.
 Demographics still skews to men, average
income $90k, 40% have advanced degrees, but
they are seeing a move down from high-income
users. Most use for commuting and exercising,
with some listening at desktop for short duration
content items.
Competition [3]
 Traditional and online retail stores,
catalogs, clubs, and libraries
 Websites that offer streaming audio
utilizing Windows Media Player or
RealPlayer
 MediaBay.com
Will They Make It?
• Long term potential
• Loyal Subscriber base
• Sweet Spot Operation
• Rise of broadband
• Prognosis Positive!
References
www.audible.com (click “How it works”)
www.twst.com/ceos/adbl.html
www.cognitrol.com/ADBL/overview.htm
www.audible.com (click “What I need”)
www.atnewyork.com/news/article .php/584711
www.apple.com/ipod/audible.html
www.audible.com/gojandr/
reviews.cnet.com/4505-3514_7-9624241.html?legacy=cnet&dir
http://bigcharts.marketwatch.com/quickchart/quickchart.asp?symb=ADBL&sid=152157
&o_symb=ADBL&x=33&y=18
10. http://bigcharts.marketwatch.com/news/articles.asp?guid={2D0BA43F-70FB-474D-B0B485D4BE5A3C9C}&newsid=806550614&symb=ADBL&sid=152157
11. www.audible.com/katz
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.