Carry your library with you 24x7, auditorily!

How convenient? Just download audio books onto your smart phones & smart devices or any MP3 player and carry your entire library with you on the move!

Let’s hear it all from Reado – a pioneer audio books company in India with over 150 plus premium book titles converted into high quality audio books, including the popular ‘The Immortals of Meluha’.

What are Audio books?

Audio books are verbatim narrations of conventional books and other material recorded onto tapes, CDs and now with changing technology as audio files. Audio books have traditionally been popular among the visually challenged but over time and with changes in lifestyle and content consumption it has started appealing to a wider audience base.

How and what made you bring the concept of audio books in India?

We have been audiobook listeners for years now and along the way identified this gap in the Indian market. We realised there would be plenty of others like us, who though interested in books and learning, could not get the learning from a book for multiple reasons. They could either be visually impaired or have reading disabilities or just caught up in busy hectic lives wherein the time to sit back and read a book is lost. So Reado decided to cater to this growing segment of the population, allowing people the choice to multitask and not miss out on any activity or work and yet experience the joys of reading.

That is why in 2010 we released our first audiobook, The Immortals of Meluha, and since then haven’t looked back catering to different tastes and ages, from children’s fiction to classics, management to self-help books.

Where all are audio books being used?

Audio books are being used by wide and varied sections of the population – from readers of business and management titles to bestselling fiction. Though audio books are versatile enough to be heard anywhere, anytime; they are used most often during commuting, especially with most Indian metros having the longest commute time the world over.

What is the scope of using audio books in the education sector? What is the current status in India?

Audio books are a new concept in India and are being promoted more holistically rather than just being targeted to a specific sector. However, the scope of audiobooks in the education sector is very large. Already many institutional and educational libraries are stocking audio books since they have identified the potential. In the coming years we shall definitely see a boom in audiobooks, especially for the education sector.

Do you see a demand for audio books from students in India?

Yes; for a variety of reasons. One because of the convenience of audiobooks, especially with the introduction of digital downloads, now students need not carry bulky books around or even audio CDs. They can download the audio books onto their smart phones and smart devices or any MP3 player and carry their entire library in their hands.

Also, a lot of the titles aid actual curriculum, especially in the case of MBA aspirants and students. The management titles on offer are authored by famous and renowned management gurus and listening to their books can help students understand many concepts better which they are taught in class. The audio book acts like an additional talk/lecture from the best names in the industry, which would otherwise be inaccessible to most of the students.

With technology catching up with the education sector in the form of virtual classrooms, webinars etc. and students recording lectures in colleges, how far do you feel we are from audio lectures?

We already have many titles which are actually live seminars and talks which have been converted into audio files and there is a huge demand for them. Audio lectures aren’t a far-fetched thought at all, especially given the changes in technology and acceptance of webinars etc. An audio lecture will provide the student the ease and comfort of listening to the lecture at his convenience while ensuring that the content doesn’t change and is beneficial. Another added advantage of an audio lecture is that it can be heard anywhere at any time. Once the student has the CD or has transferred the files onto his device of choice, he isn’t dependent on location or connectivity. So he can listen to it in the metro while driving, working out or just sitting at home. Also with the audio lecture the student shall have the ability to playback and re-listen to segments of the lecture which isn’t possible in real life setting.

How cost effective will audiobooks be in comparison to the traditional printed study material?

We try to price our audiobooks as close to the printed traditional books as possible. The advantage that audiobooks have over traditional books is that they have a longer life, since the risk of pages getting torn, binding being ruined etc. goes down considerably.

Are there any plans to take up audio book production for education purposes? Are there any ongoing projects?

At present there are no specific plans to produce audio books for education purposes, but a lot of our titles and books under production can definitely cater to the needs to the sector. We are still in the process of expanding our presence in educational libraries and catering to the needs of business and management schools. We shall contemplate creating content especially for the education sector in the next year not earlier.

About the company: Reado is a Think Ink Media Inc. brand which publishes Audio Books for the Indian and international markets. It is a pioneer audio books company in India with over 150 plus premium book titles converted into high quality audio books. Reado audio books are retailed from over 200 stores across India. The experience and learning has been gained from its parent company Eagle Home Entertainment.