How To Make an Astonishing Audiobook App Like Audible?

One of the noticeable outcomes in the mobile development industry due to the rising market demand is the audiobook application. The progressing and innovative solution like Audible has given a heads up to many entrepreneurs. Additionally, since there are limited players in the industry, the audiobook app development industry seems to be a lucrative one to enter. The bibliophiles would be on cloud nine; if they find more options like the Audible app, what say?  However, a persistent question to acknowledge here is how to develop an audiobook app like Audible and what is the cost to develop an audiobook app? And I know you are here to find out the answer, so without any further ado, let’s begin the blog. 

The beginning of a new on-demand service:

The digitization era has wrapped humans with applications. Once considered a hobby or a pastime thing, reading is also now covered under the operations of mobile apps. All thanks to our busy schedules, yet the passion of reading books and the most important, the comforts that follow the mobile app development. 

The ease of reading-on-the-go is the most talked-about concept, which is highly inspired by the success of the Audible application. This handy app is a subsidiary of Amazon and has grabbed more than 100 million downloads on PlayStore already (Commendable, isn’t it?). The application covers 450,000 titles so far, and it looks like it is here to make history.  Audible acts as an all-in-one app for enthusiast readers of podcasts, magazines, newspapers, everything.  

A Brief Description of an Audiobook

An audiobook app converts the visual media into audio media, and the distributors & book owners present it creatively to the audience. In an audiobook app, the book, novel, or write-up is recorded by selected authors or voice-over artists. These books serve as a huge advantage to physically-abled readers or native-language speakers trying/struggling to connect with the books (in different languages). 

If this excites you, let’s learn why you should consider audiobook app development?

Compelling Reasons to develop an audiobook like Audible?

Audiobooks have become the user’s first choice of preference when it comes to reading. The astonishing CAGR of the global market, 24.4% between 2020 to 2027, excites budding entrepreneurs to make an app like Audible. In addition to the above news, the following reasons also make the concept more persuasive for business owners. 

1. The industry is observing consistent growth rates of consumer book markets across the globe.
2. If we believe the information provided, it states that the United States is the biggest market for audio apps, and in 2017, it observed a sale of $2.5 billion dollars.
3. An Edison Research National Survey of American Audiobooks found that the average number of audiobooks read in a year increased from 6.8 million in 2019 to 8.1 million in 2020.
4. The audiobook apps have made it quite easy for readers to multitask while reading the application.
5. The portability and the user experience the application provides is noteworthy.
6. Hachette, Penguin Random, Simon & Schuster have confirmed their rise in sales with audiobook app development. 
7. The emergence of the audible and its success is a sufficient reason for you to try hands-on audiobook app development. 

From the audience’s point of view,

• The audiobook app allows users to bookmark pages and even make notes of them.
• It gives the utmost flexibility while listening. The audio speed can also be increased to a favorable spot.
• Users can have access to various sections of the audiobook app.
• The app recommends novels and stories to the users. 

It looks like people will embrace the concept, empathize with it, and thus the trend will prevail. If you have found this information inspiring, why wait? Contact an mobile app development company and start discussing your project idea. Wait.. wait… Make sure they start the development with lean canvas preparation, product requirements documentation and also plan a prototype release before the final launch of the app.

Well, I see; you are still here to grab more information on how audible works? Here is your answer. 

If you are developing a cross-platform app for iOS and Android platform release, make sure to design the app accordingly. We will specifically talk about Audible apps in particular so that it becomes easy for you to develop a similar application.

• The audible app is available for a free trial, followed by a subscription charge that starts after 30 days of trial.
• Users need to register the app and create an account to subscribe to the free trial.
• Once the subscription process is complete, the user gets access to 200,000 books available in the app catalog. 
• You can develop an audiobook app like Audible that asks users about their preferred book genre and gives them a more personalized experience.
• Users can select from the suite of books available, and there you go. Enjoy the seamless reading experience. 

Audible app also offers an in-built audiobook store where users can purchase a book of their choice. However, the premium and subscription model offers free access to the features and a defined catalog of books.

What is the business model for Audible? This is important to learn for monetizing your audiobook app development. 

Audible has adopted one of the best pricing business models. Let’s look into the details.

Subscription-based on monthly credit:

Audible app is free initially for 30 days, but later, the user needs to select a subscription plan. The subscription plan allows users to have hands-on the catalog and get one free book per month.

The lowest subscription price is $7.95/month. Once the user selects this plan, it doesn’t get credited yet but gives them access to the humongous list of books, podcasts, and other content.

Another plan of $14.95/month provides a monthly credit and enables users to upgrade the plan to two credits. Additionally, this plan also gives a 30% discount on the purchase of additional books.

A few other apps functioning with this business model are Kobo Audiobooks, Audiobooks.com, and Downpour. 

Unlimited access subscription:

You can also opt for an unlimited subscription model where a user pays $14.95/month and has hands-on access to around 100,000 audiobooks. A premium subscription will cost around $29.95/month. 

Other monetizing plans for an audiobook application are:

• Author promotion:

Author’s work often goes unrecognized without credits. You can ask for a certain amount of fee from them and showcase their talent on the platform. This way, they will have exposure to a wide range of audiences.

• Sell audiobooks:

You can also allow users to buy an audiobook by paying through the application. This may limit the list of interested audiences, but you will definitely find buyers to the enthralling list of books.

• Advertisements:

Users who are interested in knowing about the audiobook world are likely to watch advertisements uploaded in between their reading experience. You can use this as a chance to monetize by showing relevant advertisements from related businesses.

Where do you get the material for an Audiobook application?

You need to fill your application with resources but where you can find relevant content is a question. This can become tricky and costly if you do not do it in the right way.

Actual books:

Audiobooks are a creation that is crafted out of interest. You can have your own audiobook and make use of voice artists, but this can become a hassle if you are running tight on budget and time. 

Marketplace:

ACX is a popular marketplace that connects authors, publishers, and narrators. You can explore the options available in the marketplace either to write an audiobook for your app, publish it or narrate it. 

APIs:

Another preferable approach is to use APIs. APIs give retailers access to audiobook titles which they can pitch to consumers. Findaway uses this business model to provide content to the users. 

Additional content:

We have already mentioned that you can develop a one-stop-shop solution for audiobooks. You can develop an app that provides news, articles, audio stories, and podcast access in addition to audiobooks.

What features should you add to your audiobook application?

Features make a lot of difference in audiobook app development. It defines how a user is going to perceive the application’s experience. Some of the must-have features to include in your audiobook app are:

• Registration and user profile creation;
• Audiobook store with user library management;
• An offline download of audiobook and podcasts;
• Customization of the user screen;
• Smart search and filter of audiobooks;
• Customer support;
• Social media integration;
• Reviews and ratings on audiobooks;
• Connect with smart speakers;
• Play/pause the audiobook;
• Save for later option;
• Background play of podcasts;
• Subscription management;
• Add/delete audiobooks; 
• Advertisement management;
• Extra content management;

Other important features to have it in the audiobook app are:

Stability: 

The application should function with complete stability over platforms. It should not hang or stop while the user is enjoying the experience.

Reading speed control:

Give users complete control of handling the speed of the application’s reading. If the user wants to read the audiobook narration at twice the speed that the original, allow them to do the same.

Align the functioning CarPlay or Android auto:

Audiobooks apps are meant to be flexible and accessible. The general audience of audiobook apps is usually the ones running out of time or with a tight schedule. Well, this audience will prefer listening to apps even while they are driving their cars. When you hire mobile app developers for the project, discuss this alignment requirement with them. 

Sleep time:

Allow the users to set a sleep time, after which the audiobook will stop playing automatically.

Audio+ written formats:

Help the users by providing them a PDF or an audiobook subscription of the b.

Real-time analytics:

The application will provide book downloads and other analytics to the authors and publishers.

What is the cost of audiobook app development like Audible?

Yeah, this is an interesting question to answer. Well, you would be surprised to know that the cost of developing an app like Audible is around $30k. This includes everything from brainstorming the topic to UI/UX design, prototyping, quality testing, and maintenance.

However, there are many other factors that can affect the final cost of app development. Factors such as,

• The complexity of the project;
• Feature integration;
• Cloud integration;
• Chatbots or voice assistance;
• Third-party API integration;
• Hourly rates of developers;
• Customization;

You can learn more about project estimation cost from your development partner. Talk to them, share your expectations so that it becomes easy for them to give you an accurate estimate. 

Final Words:

The audiobook app development industry is still in its early stages, and you have a golden opportunity if you go for audiobook app development at this time. Kody Technolab excels in the on-demand app development segment, and we promise to give you a stunning app solution. 

For any further information, give us a call.