== About ==

Audiobook-Emporium is a relatively new spoken word download site, as it was officially launched in July 2006. Proud of being a "no-fuss" provider of downloadable audio books - there is no club to join and there are no subscriptions to pay. The process is a simple 3 step of Select, Pay and Download.

Why?

Time has become the most prized commodity because people's lives have gotten busier than ever. Multi-tasking has become the order of the day as people seek ways to make the most use of their "dead time" -- such as the time they spend commuting, jogging, gardening, working out, doing chores, running errands, etc.


With the rising popularity of MP3 players such as the iPod, people have increasingly been "listening" to audiobooks while they're on-the-go -- and when they don't have time to read.


Today's selection of downloadable audio books runs the gamut from fiction to bestsellers, how-to manuals, business books and language learning resources -- and today's mobile society has discovered that they can feed their brain with an unlimited amount of information. They could learn a skill, enjoy a murder mystery or an epic romance novel -- and even increase their cultural literacy while they go about their day.


The titles that are offered are the top titles from the world's leading publishers such as Harper Collins, Simon and Schuster, BBC, Time Warner (Hachette), Naxos, Brilliance, Blackstone ... the list goes on and on.


These are over five thousand of the best-selling titles from best-selling authors including Dan Brown, James Patterson, Patricia Cornwell, Stephen King, Michael Connelly, Lisa Scottoline, J.A. Jance, Elmore Leonard, Mario Puzo, Michael Crichton, Kathy Reichs, etc.


There are also business, self-help and motivational books from the likes of Simon Covey, Robert T. Kiyosaki, Robert G. Allen, Ken Blanchard, Wayne W. Dyer, Paulo Coelho, Dale Carnegie, Norman Vincent Peale, David Bach and Jack Canfield.

What? When? How?

- Do I need any special software to play these audio files?

No. All the files will work on a standard PC, although Windows Media Player is recommended.


- Can I listen to a sample?

All of the titles include a five minute sample that you can listen to.


- What is the quality of the files?

Each audio book is available in three different bit rate levels.

Quickest Download: 32kb/s

Good Quality: 64kb/s

High Quality: 128kb/s


- What format do I receive the audio in?

There are two formats used; MP3 and WMA. Both of these formats will play on PCs and Macs and most portable players. The publisher of the title chooses which format they would like the files to be distributed in. On all of the WMA formats, the files are protected by Digital Rights Management (DRM).

DRM is the acronym for Digital Rights Management. DRM is a system used to protect the copyrights of digital content, especially video and music files, this way restricting the free use and transfer of these types of files and ensuring the owners of the content that they are getting paid for their copyrighted materials.

Windows Media Player is using a software implementation using a special DRM header in the WMV or WMA format, containing an URL to obtain a key from, and needed to play the encrypted content of the file.


- How much do the titles cost?

The pricing does vary. There are free titles and special offers, but the majority of titles average between $15.00-$20.00.

External Links

Audiobook-Emporium

Audio Publishers Association (APA)