The first audio book can be traced to January 1952, when poet Dylan Thomas narrated his poetry for the sum of $500. Thomas eventually recorded "Do Not Go Gently Into the Night" on one side of a vinyl record.
It wasn't until the 1970s that books on tape appeared, mostly for the blind and visually impaired population. The invention of the CD in 1982 catapulted the market for audio books, appealing to those with long commutes or with hectic lifestyles and little time to commit to reading.
Since the mid-1980s, audio books have undergone another transition--the downloadable format. Downloading movies and music has become widely popular, and the same is true for audio books. One of the biggest publishing giants, Simon & Schuster, reported a 300 percent increase in downloadable books from 2005 to 2006. As of 2010, audio books account for 5 to 10 percent of the publishing market. The number continues to grow, making audio books a billion-dollar industry.
With the growth of the audio book market, major publishers have been buying back the rights to these talking books.
Both American copyright laws and authors have provided free audio books for the blind; however, the billion-dollar market means publishers fiercely protect the publishing and marketing of audio books. The copyright protections safeguard the royalties of publishers and writers. In the traditional format, such as audio books on cassette and CD, publishers can assign a percentage of the sales as royalty (taking into consideration the production and distribution costs). With the sales of downloadable formats such as MP3s, however, publishers have had to become more insistent on their legal protections to ensure their royalties.
Downloading has eradicated many of the production and distribution costs associated with audio books, adding to the convenience for libraries and consumers because they can be enjoyed through the computer or MP3 player. Also, with the more accessible audio book formats provided through Apple and Amazon, the sales of downloadable audio books are somewhat easy to regulate because digital rights management, which provides publishers with the right to restrict usage, protects most downloadable audio books.
The average price of audio books or royalties for audio books varies, depending entirely on production and distribution costs, which differ from format to format.