Audible.com’s Audiobook Creation Exchange (ACX) saw a ten-fold increase in the number of audiobooks produced in 2012 over 2011, its launch year. Considering Audible.com is a subsidiary of Amazon.com, it looks like the online retail giant is monopolizing yet another aspect of the publishing business.
ACX’s audiobook production platform helps authors, publishers and literary agents to turn their books into audio format. Authors can narrate their own books or hire actors or producers. And all audiobooks created through ACX are sold by Audible.com, iTunesand Amazon.com.
As wary as many are of anything book-related that reeks of Amazon, publishers and authors seem to be pleased with the service.
“The ACX system changed our world,” said CrossroadPress publisher David Niall Wilson. “Thanks to ACX’s no-cost production option, we have been able to expand our tiny audio catalog to over 150 titles.”
New York Times best-selling author Bob Mayer, who has turned 27 of his books into audiobooks using ACX, also expressed enthusiasm for the platform. “I believe the ACX system is a template for success in the digital age,” he said. “The platform has allowed me complete control of my audio empire.”
At least the authors are happy, right?
