US Audiobooks, Audible, and Exclusive Rights
If audiobooks are so popular, why are they not offered in a similar capacity to the digital music industry by the largest US retailer and producer of audiobooks? While there are costs involved in the production of audiobooks that are time-consuming, the audiobook market is clearly approaching the same issue that the digital music industry faced during the time of illegal downloading services like Napster and Limewire. The hesitancy towards moving to a more open model of consumption is creating piracy issues that are infinitely more destructive to the industry than an overhaul of the current model.