Audiobooks Are the New eBooks: Amazon and Apple End Exclusive Deal
As with ebooks, two of the biggest players in the audiobook world are Amazon (owner of the subscription-based service Audible) and Apple, whose digital iTunes store provides an extensive distribution platform. In the global market, Amazon and Apple had an exclusive audiobook deal dating back to before Amazon had even acquired Audible in 2008. The deal was that Apple would only be able to stock audiobooks from Audible in the iTunes store, and Audible could only supply their audiobooks to Apple’s iTunes store.