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Esperanto audiobooks- an untapped opportunity?

by jdawdy, April 12, 2016

Messages: 19

Language: English

jdawdy (User's profile) April 12, 2016, 5:02:56 AM

I note there are very, very few audiobooks in Esperanto. Yet, this seems like an area which should be quite active. Personally, I often don't have the time to source and then read books in Esperanto, but I very often listen to podcasts and radio broadcasts in Esperanto while driving. I would definitely be interested in audiobooks, both for content and for improving comprehension.

It strikes me that there is an opportunity for talented Esperantists to create audiobooks using Amazon ACX (http://theworldsgreatestbook.com/acx/). The ACX platform allows one to create and then publish an audiobook and receive payments based on the online sales.

While I doubt that the demand for Esperanto audiobooks is very big, it may be that for someone who speaks good Esperanto and has a good voice for narrating, could realize a small but steady income from creating an audiobook. This might be especially attractive to Esperantists is poorer countries.

The main obstacle to creating audiobooks is copyright issues. One can make an audiobooks of just about any work published before 1923, which would include many of Zamenhof's translations (Hamlet, Fables of Hans Chrisitan Andersen, ktp).

One can also petition authors and especially their estates for the right to create an audiobook of a translated work (I would love to do an audiobook of "1984", unfortunately I sound like Kermit the Frog, and that would detract greatly from the tone of Orwell's famous work).

Hopefully some Esperantists will start to take advantage of the (small) potential market or audiobooks and begin publishing them online.

Alkanadi (User's profile) April 12, 2016, 6:52:44 AM

jdawdy:While I doubt that the demand for Esperanto audiobooks is very big, it may be that for someone who speaks good Esperanto and has a good voice for narrating, could realize a small but steady income from creating an audiobook. This might be especially attractive to Esperantists is poorer countries.
Esperantists in poorer countries can also tutor people on iTalki, do translation and editing work on Upwork.

You may be happy to learn that Esperanto has the second largest contribution (next to English) on: http://tatoeba.org

If you want to improve your comprension then I recommend:
http://esperantaretradio.blogspot.com/

Be prepared for people to jump down your throat for mentioning money and Esperanto in the same post. For those people, who get angry over the thought of money, I would suggest that they can contribute for free: Librivox.

Maybe in about 5 years or so, I will be good enough to take on projects like this.

Alkanadi (User's profile) April 12, 2016, 7:01:19 AM

PS. It is hard to sell information in an information age. Because it is so easy to distribute information, it is a very competitive market.

FoxtrotUniform (User's profile) April 13, 2016, 6:43:08 AM

jdawdy:I note there are very, very few audiobooks in Esperanto. Yet, this seems like an area which should be quite active. Personally, I often don't have the time to source and then read books in Esperanto, but I very often listen to podcasts and radio broadcasts in Esperanto while driving. I would definitely be interested in audiobooks, both for content and for improving comprehension.
There is a project that provides free audiobooks of public domain works--including Esperanto. It's called LibriVox and the have fairly impressive Esperanto selection.

Vestitor (User's profile) April 13, 2016, 10:14:25 AM

I've never got into audio books, I know they sell well in the U.S. and I see their value in offering the spoken word for listening, but they are more like an accompaniment to reading than a convenient replacement. It's like the difference between reading a story and having someone else read you a story; there is a difference. I've tried a few audio books, but you end up having to pay closer attention than is supposed to be convenient. The only audiobook that worked for me was The Remains of the Day which may have been because I had already read the ordinary book .

Alkanadi, I'm not about to jump down anyone's throat merely for mentioning money alongside Esperanto. If someone goes to all the trouble of making a quality recording of a book it's not unreasonable to want to get something back for the effort.

On the other hand there are those people who look at Esperanto as "another ripe market" for their endless moneymaking quests. Involving little work or repackaging other people's efforts for a quick buck. I do have something against that. Especially when the faux cry of: "but what does it matter as long it promotes Esperanto" is disingenuously tagged onto it.

jdawdy (User's profile) April 14, 2016, 2:15:53 AM

Thanks for pointing that out- I had seen some of these but not the full list.

Unfortunately, the Esperanto audiobook library seems mostly limited to poetry, language lessons, and a few of the works of Zamenhof. Alice in Wonderland is just about the only novel.

Just would like to see other novels in audiobook format, and I would certainly pay for the chance.
There is a project that provides free audiobooks of public domain works--including Esperanto. It's called LibriVox and the have fairly impressive Esperanto selection.

Alkanadi (User's profile) April 14, 2016, 6:41:56 AM

jdawdy:Just would like to see other novels in audiobook format, and I would certainly pay for the chance.
How much does an audiobook typically sell for?

What book specifically would you like to have as an audiobook?
http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Esperanto_%28Bookshe...

jdawdy (User's profile) April 14, 2016, 7:29:29 PM

According to https://www.acx.com/help/what-s-the-deal/200497690
"2. How much will my audiobook sell for in stores?
Each retailer of your audiobook independently prices your product and determines such price in their sole discretion. While not always the case, the regular price on Audible for the product is generally priced based on its length, as follows:

Under 1 hour: under $7
1 – 3 hours: $7 - $10
3 – 5 hours: $10 - $20
5–10 hours: $15 - $25
10–20 hours: $20 - $30
Over 20 hours: $25 - $35"

Royalty rates are 40%.

I'd go for Robinsono Kruso, Vivo de Zamenhof, Mark Twain...possibly Hamlet. From copyrighted works I'd like 1984, The Little Prince, The Stainless Steel Rat, just off the top of my head.

Alkanadi:
jdawdy:Just would like to see other novels in audiobook format, and I would certainly pay for the chance.
How much does an audiobook typically sell for?

What book specifically would you like to have as an audiobook?
http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Esperanto_%28Bookshe...

Vestitor (User's profile) April 14, 2016, 7:32:52 PM

If you speak really slow does that increase the price?

NJ Esperantist (User's profile) April 14, 2016, 8:02:57 PM

Vestitor:If you speak really slow does that increase the price?
Speaking with inflection, emotion or character should increase the price. I'm not a fan of peoplewhospeakreallyfastinamonotone.

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