Released on: May 5, 2008, 11:24 pm

Press Release Author: Cathy Halgis Nevins

Industry: Entertainment

Press Release Summary: Mp3 pioneer to offer audiobooks in world\'s most popular
digital format starting september 18 no. 2 digital music retailer will expand a
market poised for growth.

Press Release Body: NEW YORK, Sept. 17, 2007 -- eMusic the world\'s largest retailer
of independent music and the world\'s second-largest digital music service after
iTunes, announces the availability of more than a thousand downloadable audiobook
titles in the universally compatible MP3 format starting tomorrow, September 18.
Consumers, who have long wondered why they can\'t simply use audiobooks with their
existing MP3 players, can now enjoy them without restrictions. eMusic\'s expansion
into audiobooks, its first retail product beyond music, brings the company\'s
award-winning combination of universal compatibility, great value, and expert
editorial to a market that is poised for growth. Worldwide digital audiobooks sales
are expected to reach $201 million this year and nearly half of eMusic subscribers
recently polled have expressed interest in audiobooks.

eMusic will offer more than a thousand audiobooks from major audiobook publishers
including Blackstone Audio, Hachette, Naxos Audiobooks, Penguin and Random House,
with hundreds more to be added each week. The catalogue comprises fiction and
non-fiction classics, bestsellers and new releases, including notable books narrated
by well-known voices such as: Michael Ondaatje\'s The English Patient, read by Ralph
Fiennes; Shakespeare\'s Hamlet, read by Sir John Gielgud; Nicola Kraus\' The Nanny
Diaries, read by Julia Roberts; and Barack Obama reading his own books, Dreams of My
Father and The Audacity of Hope. Upcoming releases this fall will include President
Bill Clinton reading his own Giving and Eric Clapton\'s autobiography, narrated by
Bill Nighy. Other best-selling authors available on eMusic are Jon Stewart, David
Sedaris, James Patterson, Michael Connelly, Joel Osteen, Brad Meltzer, and Janet
Fitch.

As with its music service, eMusic will offer audiobooks at a great value. Current
eMusic customers can sign up for monthly subscriptions priced at $9.99 for one book
or $19.99 for two books and get one book free as part of an introductory offer. New
eMusic customers will be offered an audiobooks subscription with one audiobook free
if they sign up within 14 days. (Audiobooks-only subscriptions will be available in
the future.) eMusic audiobooks subscription plans represent a considerable discount
from the cost of physical audiobooks, which typically retail for $20 - $40, and are
far more convenient, as physical products often include at least four and sometimes
as many as 20 CDs.

eMusic also will bring its sophisticated editorial voice to its audiobooks offering.
Subscribers will find regular reviews of audiobooks by critics from the Washington
Post, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Sun-Times, Philadelphia Inquirer, New York
Observer, and Slate, among others. Other editorial features will include the eMusic
Bookshelf, featuring six books that touch on a specific theme (similar to the eMusic
Dozen), plus monthly columns on noteworthy new arrivals, interviews with authors and
more. The eMusic Book Club will accommodate what\'s expected to be an enthusiastic
eMusic community of literary fans.

eMusic audiobooks will be encoded in high-quality 64 kbps bit rate -- twice the
audio quality available from iTunes and Audible. Customers can download eMusic
audiobooks with a single click using the new eMusic Remote helper application, which
immediately adds the audiobook to the library within their existing digital audio
software (e.g., iTunes, Windows Media Player and Winamp). Moving the audiobook to an
MP3 player is a simple additional click. Using existing functionality on selected
players, including iPods®, eMusic audiobooks will remember where the user left off
when pausing during listening.

The digital audiobooks market is currently the fast-growing segment of the book
publishing industry. According to Piper Jaffray & Co., the worldwide market for
digital audiobooks and other spoken word is expected to grow 45% in revenue from
$138.6 million in 2006 to $201.1 million in 2007, and 36.5% to $274.4 million in
2008. When eMusic subscribers were polled recently on what new products they would
be most interested in, 49% expressed interest in audiobooks.

\"With the launch of eMusic audiobooks, eMusic is now a multi-product digital
entertainment retailer. As we expand our offerings, we will continue our focus on
customers over the age of 25, and continue to offer them an inexpensive, low-risk
way to explore great entertainment they wouldn\'t find otherwise,\" said David Pakman,
eMusic President and CEO. \"We expect that our sales will help to dramatically
accelerate the audiobooks market. For the first time, thousands of audiobooks from
major publishers will be sold in the universally compatible MP3 format, delivering
far more convenience and flexibility to the consumer than ever before. Finally,
consumers can listen to their audiobooks on any device they like.\"

eMusic will officially mark its audiobooks launch with a private event tomorrow
evening September 18 at the Angel Orensanz Foundation Center for the Arts on New
York City\'s Lower East Side, featuring welcoming remarks by Benjamin Kunkel, author
of acclaimed 2005 fiction novel Indecision, and two rising independent bands, XL
Recordings\' Vampire Weekend and Daptone Records\' the Budos Band.

About eMusic
eMusic (http://www.emusic.com) is a digital entertainment retailer focused on
serving customers 25 and older by offering independent music and audiobooks in a
universally compatible format at a great value. It is the world\'s largest retailer
of independent music and the world\'s second-largest digital music service after
iTunes, with more than 2.8 million tracks from 20,000 of the world\'s leading
independent labels and over 1000 titles from top audiobooks publishers. To
super-serve its customers, eMusic provides award-winning editorial content, a
vibrant online community and unrivaled music discovery tools. eMusic\'s
subscription-based service offers 25 free downloads and one free audiobook at
sign-up, giving consumers an inexpensive, low-risk way to explore great new music
and books they wouldn\'t find otherwise. Its universally compatible MP3 files play on
any audio device including the iPod®. Based in New York with an office in London,
eMusic.com Inc. is wholly owned by Dimensional Associates, Inc., the private equity
arm of JDS Capital Management, Inc.

About Author

Here the author Cathy Halgis Nevins writes about e-Music announcing the availability
of more than a thousand downloadable audio book titles in the universally compatible
MP3 format. Enjoy Audio
Books, music
downloads, online music, free mp3 downloads at www.emusic.com.



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