We also tried to create content in the lockdown, without our partners being able to go to the studios. We saw more than unusual consumptions on these books. Popular titles such as The Power of the Subconscious Mind or My Gita by Devdutt Pattanaik remained so. We witnessed a change in consumption pattern, and also a little bit of an inclination towards spirituality and wellness titles. What kind of books were popular during the lockdown? We expanded our collection to include popular titles such as Panchatantra and Karadi Tales in India. Again, it is something you can log into from your browser, and listen.
We started a free service called Audible Kids for this purpose. Having to entertain kids of all ages at home also contributed to this. People had access to their IoT devices because of more time spent at home, and this changed the consumption patterns for some in the last few months. How did you confirm that users have started spending more time reading e-books and audio books? A little bit of a bump around lunchtime, as a break from the routine. We saw early morning spikes during exercising, and morning walks and so on. For instance, I have a three-and-a-half year old who listens to Topsy and Tim, his favourite audiobook for easily half-an-hour in a day. People have been listening to content any time in the day, while doing various chores, whether they listen with their kids or otherwise. Now we see a smoother line throughout the day. Have there been any changes in adoption patterns over the last two years during the pandemic?Įarlier, we would see peaks (in user traffic to the app) in the morning and evening, assuming when people were travelling, but that stopped, and got distributed. People want access to quality content and get screen-free time - audio fits in beautifully in their lives. India has been one of the fastest growing audiences for Audible globally. We feel that the free app has helped with accelerated adoption. It was a conscious decision on our part to keep it such to scale audio content in India. That is why, for the first time ever, we have an app which you can use without having to put your credit card details, or signing up. Our plan is to reach really wide segments in India.
This is completely free, ad-free to get more creators interested in creating content. What we also did in December 2019 - is launch a free-of-cost service - a standalone app called Audible Suno. We have all the top bestselling author books such as Chetan Bhagat, Aruni Kashyap, Durjoy Dutta - to name a few. We began with our premium service, priced at ₹199 a month in India, in which you get the best books from all over the world from international bestsellers to local favourites. How has Audible adapted to country-specific tastes and preferences? BrandLine spoke to Shailesh Sawlani, Country GM, India, at Audible about the growing business of audiobooks and what makes them popular in India.
Two-and-a-half years on, it has several local titles under its banner. Globally, the media company, acquired by Amazon in 2008, was the largest distributor and producer to enter the nascent Indian market. Audible India entered the Indian market in 2018. The OTT industry has seen a positive change in its outcome since then, and a Nielsen survey conducted between June-August 2020 pointed to the fact that more readers were spending time on audiobooks. The last year-and-a-half has changed consumption patterns of digital media with the pandemic-induced lockdown and work-from-home norms.