Audible Unveils Short Form Audio Streaming Service
In a move that further expands Audible Inc.’s reach beyond the audiobook market, the Amazon subsidiary has unveiled an on-demand, unlimited listening service called Channels. The ad-free service, which is free to Audible subscribers (and was rolled out to some members in beta this spring), features curated short-form audio. Non-subscribers can access the content for $4.95 a month.
Channels listeners will find a consistently updated roster of original programming and exclusive content that includes comedy, episodic programs, lectures, and narrated selections from newspapers like The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and The Washington Post (owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos).
According to Audible executive v-p and publisher Beth Anderson, the content in Channels is “hand-selected” by a staff of editors and read by celebrities, authors, professional actors, and others. “Much like our audiobook and long-form original productions, the performer for each individual piece of content is chosen with tremendous care in order to achieve an outstanding listening experience,” she said.
Among the initial episodic offerings on Channels is “Presidents Are People Too,” which provides warts-and-all profiles of each American president and is hosted by Elliott Kalan, a former head writer for The Daily Show, and American historian Alexis Coe. “Authorized” is an Audible Original series that showcases authors sharing their most intimate firsts—from first rejection to first love. “Hot Mic with Dan Savage” is a no-holds-barred exploration of sex featuring true confessions offered live, on stage.
Eric Nuzum, a former programming v-p at NPR, leads the Channels team. Nuzum, who came to Audible in May 2015 as senior v-p of original content, was instrumental in establishing podcasting at NPR, but has said he came to Audible with different goals.
In an April 2016 interview with Nicholas Quah for Quah’s Hot Pod newsletter about podcasts, Nuzum said: “I’m not at Audible to build podcasts. I’m at Audible to start a revolution. In the way audio is produced, and in the way audio is distributed.” And, speaking with Current last May, Nuzum likened Channels to HBO in terms of a general model, saying that the new service would have “that same sense of quality and level of craft” and be “a place where listeners are willing to pay for both creation and curation.”
Anderson also believes that quality will drive subscription. “Channels is about creating an amazing ecosystem of quality listening experiences that become available with astounding regularity,” she said. She also noted that, because Channels is not supported by advertising, the service “opens a lot of doors for creators and enables us to focus on the content that we want to make, and the content we know our listeners want to hear.”
Channels, in Anderson’s vision, will build listenership in two ways. It will draw in listeners by providing audiobook subscribers with bonus content “to enjoy between audiobooks and in shorter spurts.” It will also, she believes, attract consumers who do not currently listen to audiobooks and “may not have considered long-form listening.”
Enjoy on-the-go original programs, commute-sized comedy, and important stories of the day in advertising-free audioAudible Announces Channels, an Unlimited Short-Form Digital Audio Service Available for $4.95 Per Month, or Free with Audible Premium Membership
NEWARK, N.J.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Audible Inc., the world’s largest seller and producer of downloadable audiobooks and other spoken-word entertainment, today announced the launch of Channels, an unlimited, advertising-free on-demand listening service featuring a consistently refreshed and thoughtfully organized collection of original programming and exclusive content including cutting-edge episodic programs, distinctive comedy, lectures and the best of audio periodicals.
“The Audible Channels team includes gifted creators who have come together in a way reminiscent of the vaudevillians and stand-up comedians who helped define the creative burst when radio began, and like the novelists who flocked to Hollywood to add elite professional-grade creativity to the birth of a new medium”
Channels is available as a free benefit for Audible Premium members, and can be purchased as a stand-alone offering for $4.95 a month.
“From our origins – harking back to the time when Audible commercialized the first digital audio player in 1997 and launched original short-form premium programming with Robin Williams in 2000 – we have believed the quality and character of everyday life would be enhanced by delivering the culture’s most compelling and artfully performed spoken words,” said Audible founder and CEO Donald Katz. “Channels is a natural extension of that founding premise, and we believe this new shorter-form service and the exciting original productions to come will become as popular and habit-forming as Audible’s audiobook service. It is a real pleasure to offer Audible Channels to our current and future Premium members as a free benefit.”
Channels will offer handpicked content in digestible shorter formats. Listeners can hear key audio selections from The Wall Street Journal, Scientific American, and The Onion; and they will find programs arrayed across general topics such as Science Fiction, Food, Comedy, Sports, History, and Leadership.
At launch, Channels programming available to hear includes “Presidents Are People Too,” a series that recasts each of the American presidents into real-life people complete with flaws, quirks, triumphs, scandals, and bodily ailments, hosted by former Daily Show writer Elliott Kalan and American historian Alexis Coe; exclusive audio renditions of The Onion; “Limelight,” which highlights the best new standup performances from comedy clubs across the country with rotating guest hosts such as T. J. Miller, Ron Funches and the Sklar Brothers; “Hold On with Eugene Mirman,” in which funny live stories are interrupted with new details divulged by even funnier special guests, such as Jim Gaffigan and “Weird Al” Yankovic; “Hot Mic with Dan Savage,” an exclusive no-holds-barred look at sex featuring true confessions performed live on stage; lectures from The Great Courses; and exclusive audio from Smithsonian Magazine, Harvard Business Review and McSweeney’s.
“The Audible Channels team includes gifted creators who have come together in a way reminiscent of the vaudevillians and stand-up comedians who helped define the creative burst when radio began, and like the novelists who flocked to Hollywood to add elite professional-grade creativity to the birth of a new medium,” Mr. Katz added. “Led by Eric Nuzum, whose talents and pioneering accomplishments speak for themselves, the team includes the creators of many of the industry’s most-listened-to podcasts, as well as original programming experts ranging across dramatic entertainment, documentaries and comedy of all stripes, along with producers and editors who understand how to deliver the most compelling news and lifestyle-focused programming.”
Beginning today, listeners can also access preview episodes or excerpts from forthcoming original programs including “The Butterfly Effect,” hosted by Jon Ronson; “Breasts Unbound,” in which science journalist Florence Williams delves into the mysteries of the human breast; “Mortal City,” a talk show on the street and on the fringe with crime reporter Kathleen Horan; and “Authorized,” in which authors share their most intimate firsts, from drafts to rejections, with up-and-coming media personality Ashley C. Ford.
New original programs will be debuted regularly.
To learn more about Audible Channels, visit: www.audible.com/getchannels.
ABOUT AUDIBLE, INC.
Audible, Inc., an Amazon.com, Inc. subsidiary (NASDAQ:AMZN), is the leading provider of premium digital spoken audio information and entertainment on the Internet, offering customers a new way to enhance and enrich their lives every day. Audible was created to unleash the emotive music in language and the habituating power and utility of verbal expression. Audible content includes more than 300,000 audio programs from leading audiobook publishers, broadcasters, entertainers, magazine and newspaper publishers, and business information providers. Audible is also the preeminent provider of spoken-word audio products for Apple’s iTunes® Store.
Contacts
Audible.com
Esther Bochner, 973-820-0781
bochnere@audible.com
Take a Tour of Audible’s Big New Comedy Channel
Nick Offerman on his new show: “There’s no attempt to go with mainstream popular culture”
The “Parks and Recreation” actor talks about “Bedtime Stories for Cynics” and the shock of Trump’s election
Topics: 2016 Elections, digital culture, Donald Trump, nick offerman, Parks and Recreation, Entertainment News
Audiobook giant Audible has just announced a new set of comedy shows including “The Comedy Show Show with Will Arnett,” “Hot Mic with Dan Savage,” and “Bedtime Stories for Cynics,” a stand-up comedy show called “Limelight” and a humor show based on the magazine McSweeney’s. The shows will be part of the company’s Audible Channels package.
Offerman hosts “Bedtime Stories for Cynics.” The burly actor, of course, is best known for his role as woodworking, single-malt sipping libertarian Ron Swanson on the show “Parks and Recreation.” In his Audible series, he introduces actors and comedians like Lewis Black, Patton Oswalt, Maria Bamford and Tommy Chong to tell their twisted tales, some of which are riffs on classic stories like “Goldilocks and the Three Bears.”
Salon spoke to Offerman, who was in Los Angeles. The interview has been lightly edited for clarity.
So where did the idea for the show come from? Was it yours? And what were you trying for as you cooked it up?
Well, I love working with Audible doing books. And considering the subject matter, they figured, “We need someone who is just shy of putting our listeners to sleep.”
Right, these are bedtime stories.
So I think that’s how they think of me. I was tickled to be asked to take part. I’m a big fan of the participants.
Let’s talk about some of them. You are a presenter, here and do the introductions but let other people tell the stories. What are you looking for in the people who write and tell these grim bedtime tales?
Well, these are some of the best comic minds working. I love the sort of underground feeling of it; there’s a darkness to some of these stories. There’s no attempt to go with mainstream popular culture. That’s just never as funny as the slightly unhinged collection of writers and readers we have.
The ones I’ve listened to have a lot of dirty words, violence, gross stuff — especially the Goldilocks episode. Were you guys trying to write stuff that was as far as you could get from a standard kid’s fairy tale or bedtime story?
I don’t think there was any particular agenda to distance ourselves. It was kind of like an improv comedy game: Take any watered-down children’s story and add the most fucked-up twist you can.
Right, try to make it funny and outrageous however you can do it.
Yeah, taking a presumably safe and comforting medium and turning it on its ear. Because it’s very funny.
You do the introductions here. What’s that guy like? Is the guy who welcomes everyone to story time really you or is he a Ron Swanson kinda guy? Or is it something else entirely?
No, nothing I ever do will be a Ron Swanson kinda guy. Ron Swanson was written by people a lot smarter than me. And I feel like this is much more like a cracked Orson Welles: There’s an avuncular quality but in this case your uncle might seem a little creepy, but he’s probably going to have a little bit of weed in his pipe. He’ll tell you some things you might not have known. He’ll take you up to the line but won’t cross it.
Audible Announces Comedy Shows with Will Arnett, Nick Offerman, More
Audible Channels, Audible’s suite of weekly-updated audio programs (that are definitely not podcasts), has just announced a new lineup of comedy shows including comedians Will Arnett, Nick Offerman, T.J. Miller and more.
Arnett’s show, The Comedy Show Show, will be the lineup’s anchor, being described as a “hilarious all-access pass to the hottest thematic comedy shows around the country.”
Arnett said of the show:
I’m excited to see The Comedy Show Show take off because of the amazing platform that Audible is creating with Channels. The opportunity for creative and inventive stand-up comedy to gain exposure and build momentum among Audible’s voracious listener base, and to be part of a growing roster of other incredibly high quality and entertaining shows, is gratifying. Why don’t you go ahead and slip into something more comfortable while I make sure Audible brings you some of the best live themed comedy shows from all over this big, long, fully aroused … country.
Also among the new shows, accessible through the Audible app, are Bedtime Stories for Cynics,, a show for innapropriate children’s stories hosted by Nick Offerman; Hold On, in which host Eugene Mirman will cover live stories with the help of special guests; and Hot Mic, a series about sex and love from Dan Savage. Other comedians that have been featured on Audible’s shows include John Mulaney, Patton Oswalt, Maria Bamford, Mike Birbiglia and Kumail Nanjiani.
Audible Chief Content Officer Andy Gaies said of the new lineup of shows:
Creating a dedicated platform for comedy shows within Audible Channels allows our listeners to discover a quality and quantity of content they won’t be able to find anywhere else. Audible’s access to comedy shows throughout the country and deep roots in the comedy world allow us to surface the best talent coming out of clubs nationwide. The sheer volume of comedic voices that contribute to these shows set them apart in the audio space, and we are proud to offer these rich listening experiences within Channels.
If you have an Audible membership or Amazon Prime, Audible Channels is free. Otherwise, a membership will set you back $4.95 per month. You can see Audible Channels’ full lineup of shows here.
Will Arnett’s ‘Comedy Show Show’ & More Set On Audible
Will Arnett’s The Comedy Show Show is now available on Audible, an Amazon company, along with original comedy series featuring comedians Nick Offerman, Dan Savage and more.
The series, which can be accessed via the Audible app, include the first season of Bedtime Stories for Cynics, presented by Nick Offerman, featuring inappropriate children’s stories for adults; Hold On with Eugene Mirman, with guests including “Weird Al” Yankovic, Jim Gaffigan and Lisa Lampanelli among others; Hot Mic with Dan Savage, a collection of awkward, poignant and hilarious stories about lust, longing, and lewd behavior hosted by the sex advice columnist.
Also available are the first season of Sounds Like America, hosted by a rotating cast of comics; Limelight, featuring stand-up shows from comedy clubs around the country; Audible Comedy Specials featuring highlights from comedy festivals and McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, featuring dramatic performances of pieces from McSweeney’s literary humor site
Other comedians featured in the above programs include Gilbert Gottfried, John Mulaney, Patton Oswald, Rob Delaney, Tommy Chong, Maria Bamford, Jackie Kashian, Mike Birbiglia and Lisa and Kumail Nanjiani.
“I’m excited to see The Comedy Show Show take off because of the amazing platform that Audible is creating with Channels,” said Arnett. “The opportunity for creative and inventive stand-up comedy to gain exposure and build momentum among Audible’s voracious listener base, and to be part of a growing roster of other incredibly high quality and entertaining shows, is gratifying.”
“Creating a dedicated platform for comedy shows within Audible Channels allows our listeners to discover a quality and quantity of content they won’t be able to find anywhere else,” said Audible Chief Content Officer Andy Gaies. “Audible’s access to comedy shows throughout the country and deep roots in the comedy world allow us to surface the best talent coming out of clubs nationwide. The sheer volume of comedic voices that contribute to these shows set them apart in the audio space, and we are proud to offer these rich listening experiences within Channels.”
Introduced earlier this year, Audible Channels features a selection of original programs, lectures, and audio editions of standout articles and news from The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Harvard Business Review, Foreign Affair, Charlie Rose, The Onion, and other leading periodicals. Audible Channels is free with an Audible membership and to Amazon Prime members, and also available to purchase as a standalone for $4.95 a month.
Rachel Lark featured on ‘Hot Mic’
The latest episode from Dan Savage’s new podcast, “Hot Mic” features some original songs and extended interviews with yours truly!
Check it out here: http://adbl.co/2dWqVN5
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Hot Mic With Dan Savage
Dan Savage isn’t just a notable journalist and activist; he’s also one of the funniest men alive. And now he brings his talents to the new Audible show Hot Mic With Dan Savage. The program, both comedic and touching, features the best live storytelling talent from around the nation, with Savage adding his own commentary, in what’s touted as an NSFW version of The Moth. Subjects include first kisses, first times, gender, orgies, sex work, and more. Find all the episodes, with a new one premiering each week, at Audible.com.