AMAZON STARTS AUDIOBOOK STORE

By Shannon Maughan -- Publishers Weekly

Amazon has taken another step further into the audiobook market by adding a featured audiobook store to its Web site, fueling speculation that the online retailer will sell downloadable audiobooks at some point. Amazon has long sold traditional audio formats on cassette and CD (and tracked top sellers) and partnered with Audible.com to offer downloads of select audiobook titles. Amazon currently offers DRM-free MP3 music downloads as well, (avaialable to US cutsomers only).

But the new audiobook store brings tighter focus to the spoken-word audio category and gives prominence to titles from recent Amazon acquisition Brilliance Audio, including those in the MP3CD format. In the mold of other stores on the site, the new audiobook store includes bargain titles, highlighted genres, a “New & Notable” section and a bestseller list. In addition, browsers will find such syndicated material from Audiofile Magazine as downloadable reviews and blog entries.