Audible and Bookspan Open Digital Boutiques

Audiobook provider Audible, Inc., and book marketer Bookspan have launched new online "audio boutiques" making Audible's spoken word content downloadable via favorite book services.

Digital audiobook provider Audible, Inc. and book marketer Bookspan have announced the launch of "audio boutiques" featuring Audible digital content at six of Bookspan’s biggest Web sites, including Book-of-the-Month Club, Quality Paperback Book Club, Literary Guild, and the Doubleday Book Club. The Bookspan sites now feature full-blown Audible online browsing and purchasing features, enabling customers to sample audiobooks for free, then purchase and download selections from Audible’s extensive 70,000+ hours of digital spoken word content.

Bookspan is a leading direct marketer of general interest and specialty books, operating more than 40 clubs with nearly 9 million members, with brands like Book-of-the-Month Club going back many decades.

Audible is the leading online provider of spoken audio from more than 250 content partners, and provides digital content for personal computers, CDs, and portable digital music players, PDAs, and smart phones. Audible content is currently available via Amazon.com and Apple’s iTunes Music Store (and is fully supported by Apple’s popular iPods), and the company also has partnerships with Creative Labs, palmOne, XM Satellite Radio, HP, and Microsoft. However, the partnership with Bookspan enables Audible to reach book customers who traditionally purchase physical books via catalog and mail order: Audible’s content will now be available to millions of Bookspan customers through services they already use. Bookspan benefits by being able to offer the provide a large library of digital content for sale without having to produce the material and manage the business.