Category Archives: Surveys

Audie Awards 2012: And The Winner Is… Part V

Adam Boretz -- May 25th, 2012

Today, our Informal Audie Awards Poll goes out with a bang: this is the Big One, the Highest Honor, the Superbowl of Audio Awards. Today we bring you, Audiobook of the Year.

And, as you might expect, the audiobooks in this category are nothing short of spectacular. The nominees for Audiobook of the Year are:

American Gods: The Tenth Anniversary Edition, read by Dennis Boutsikaris and a Full Cast (Harper Audio)
Bossypants, read by Tina Fey (Hachette Audio)
Go the F–k to Sleep, read by Samuel L. Jackson (Audible, Inc./ Brilliance)
Steve Jobs, read by Dylan Baker (Simon & Schuster Audio)

Well, which title should be crowned Audiobook of the Year?

Audie Awards 2012: And The Winner Is… Part IV

Adam Boretz -- May 24th, 2012

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The penultimate installment in our Informal Audie Awards Poll looks at a category that seems to get more and more popular every year: audiobooks read by the author.

The nominees for Narration by the Author or Authors are:

Stories I Only Tell My Friends, written and read by Rob Lowe (Macmillan Audio)
Beauty Queens, written and read by Libba Bray (Scholastic Audiobooks)
Drama, written and read by John Lithgow (Harper Audio)
 Seriously…I’m Kidding, written and read by Ellen DeGeneres (Hachette Audio)
Bossypants, written and read by Tina Fey (Hachette Audio)

Which author deserves to win the Audie for Narration by the Author or Authors in 2012:

Audie Awards 2012: And The Winner Is… Part III

Adam Boretz -- May 23rd, 2012

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Today — in the third installment of our Informal Audie Awards Poll — we turn to one of the most prestigious prizes up for grabs at this years Audies: Distinguished Achievement in Production.

This one boasts some heavy hitters, some big names, and, of course, some great audiobooks. The Nominees for Distinguished Achievement in Production are:

The Mark of Zorro, read by Val Kilmer and a Full Cast (Blackstone Audiobooks)
She Walks in Beauty, read by Caroline Kennedy, Jane Alexander, John Bedford Lloyd, Hope Davis, and Campbell Scott (Hyperion Audio)
The Watch That Ends the Night: Voices from the Titanic, read by Michael Page, Phil Gigante, Christopher Lane, Laural Merlington, and Angela Dawe(Brilliance Audio/ Candlewick)
The Witches of Lublin, read by Tovah Feldshuh, Simon Jones, Barbara Rosenblat, Neil Gaiman, Elizabeth Boskey, Joanne Borts, Yelena Shmulenson, Joyce Feurring, Tim Jerome, et al. (SueMedia Productions)

Who should be going home with the Hardware? It’s up to YOU.

Audie Awards 2012: And The Winner Is… Part II

Adam Boretz -- May 22nd, 2012

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In Part II of our Informal Audie Awards Poll, we’re taking a look at two categories — both of which are among my favorites — featuring audiobooks with more than one narrator: Multi-Voiced Performance and Audio Drama.

In the Multi-Voiced Narrator Category, the nominees are:

1Q84, read by Alison Hiroto, Marc Vietor, and Mark Boyett (Audible, Inc./ Brilliance Audio)
A Raisin in the Sun, read by Judyann Elder, James Gleason, Noah Gray-Cabey, Corey Hawkins, Deidrie Henry, Terrell Tilford, Rutina Wesley, and Mirron E. Willis (L.A. Theatre Works)
Bruiser, read by Nick Podehl, Kate Rudd, Luke Daniels, and Laura Hamilton (Brilliance Audio)
The Watch That Ends the Night: Voices from the Titanic, read by Michael Page, Phil Gigante, Christopher Lane, Laural Merlington, and Angela Dawe (Brilliance Audio/ Candlewick)
The Graduate, read by Kathleen Turner, Matthew Rhys, and a Full Cast (L.A. Theatre Works)

And in the Audio Drama Category, the nominees are:

The Graduate, read by Kathleen Turner, Matthew Rhys, and a Full Cast (L.A. Theatre Works)
I, Claudius, read by A Full Cast (AudioGO)
The Mark of Zorro, read by Val Kilmer and a Full Cast (Blackstone Audiobooks)
We’re Alive: A Story of Survival, The First Season, read by A Full Cast(Blackstone Audiobooks)
The Arthur Miller Collection, read by A Full Cast (L.A. Theatre Works)

Well, Gentle Readers, the choice is yours. To whom do the Audie Awards Go?

Audie Awards 2012: And The Winner Is… Part I

Adam Boretz -- May 21st, 2012

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With the Audie Awards fast approaching, we thought it might be fun to highlight some of the great nominees with an Informal Audie Awards Poll — voted on by you, the readers of Listen Up and PW.

To kick things off, we’ll take a look at two very competitive categories: Solo Narration – Male and Solo Narration – Female.

For Solo Narration – Male, the nominees are:

Simon Vance for The King’s Speech (Tantor Media)
Dion Graham for Going to Meet the Man (AudioGO)
Charlton Griffin for The Complete Stories of Sherlock Holmes: Volume III (Audio Connoisseur)
Kenneth Branagh for Heart of Darkness (Audible)
Bronson Pinchot for Hard Magic: Grimnoir Chronicles, Book 1 (Audible)

And for Solo Narration – Female, the nominees are:

Sissy Spacek for Loretta Lynn: Coal Miner’s Daughter (Random House Audio)
Katherine Kellgren for Ashes (Audible/Brilliance Audio)
Katherine Kellgren for The Wake of the Lorelei Lee (Listen & Live Audio)
Lorelei King for First Grave on the Right (Macmillan Audio)
Rosalyn Landor for The Winter Sea (Audible)

Who do YOU think will win? The polls are NOW OPEN:

APA 2011 Sales Survey

Adam Boretz -- December 12th, 2011

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Late last week, the Audiobook Publishers Association released its 2011 Sales Survey. Take a look below for some of this year’s survey highlights:

Unit sales were up nearly 10 percent in the past year, showing continued consumer interest in audiobooks.

Based on the companies who reported (representing 61 percent of industry), total net sales (after returns) are up by 2 million units and $2 million.

The total number of audiobooks being published doubled in the past three years, from 3,073 in 2007 to 6,200 in 2010.

Audiobook downloads continued on a growth trend representing 36 percent of dollar volume (up from 29 percent in 2009) and 52 percent of unit sales (up from 48 percent in 2009)

In the past 5 years, downloading has grown 300 percent by dollar volume (from 9 percent in 2005) and 150 percent in terms of units (from 21 percent in 2005).

The CD format still represents the largest single source of dollars but showed slight declines overall in 2010 – 58 percent of revenue (down from 65 percent) and 43 percent of unit sales (down from 46 percent).

Unabridged editions (89 percent of the market by dollars; 85 percent of the market by units) continue to lead in sales.

It’s All About You

Adam Boretz -- September 20th, 2011

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Once again, we asked — this time a few questions about our readership — and you responded. And to summarize the results of our “Getting To Know You Poll,” you are (or at least the average of the collective you is) a 35- to 44-Year-Old Woman Who Lives In The Midwest And Does Not Work In The Audio Industry.

For a more detailed recap of our most recent survey, take a look at all the results after the jump. And thanks to everyone who voted!! Continue reading →

Poll: Who Are You?

Adam Boretz -- September 15th, 2011

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At the risk of sounding like Big Brother, we at Listen Up want to know all about YOU. As such, we’ve concocted a little “Getting To Know You Poll.” Take a peek below and tell us all about yourself — well, within some pretty limited parameters and via some totally innocuous and impersonal questions.

Poll: The Voice Of Sherlock Holmes

Adam Boretz -- August 29th, 2011

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Here at Listen Up, we’re pretty much obsessed with Sherlock Holmes Audiobooks. And while we’re not too picky — we like the single narrator audios, the full cast productions, the radio dramas, anything that lets us feel like we’re strolling about 221B Baker Street with a pipe and a brandy — there are often great internal debates about who should hold the title of Best Sherlock Holmes Narrator.

But with so many Sherlock Holmes Audiobooks out there, it’s kind of hard to decide — let alone listen to all the different narrators who have voiced Holmes over the years. It’s clear we need help crowning the Best Sherlock Homes Narrator. And that’s where you come in! So, without further ado, Listen Up presents THE SHERLOCK HOLMES BEST NARRATOR POLL.

Vote as often as you like. Feel free to write in your favorite narrator. Feel free to state your case in the comments section. Let’s do this thing!

The Polls Are Closed; The Results Are In

Adam Boretz -- July 14th, 2011

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The First Listen Up Audiobook Poll is closed and — not to toot our collective audio horn — the results were terrific. Hundreds of readers voted. There were some blowouts. Some tight races. Some contentious battles. And in the end, your preferences were made clear. Thanks so much to everyone who participated. And now, let’s recap the results.

What’s Your Favorite Audio Format?

This one wasn’t even close. A whopping 75 percent of you voted for Single Narrator, with just 13 percent selecting Multiple Narrator, 9 percent picking Full Cast, and 3 percent opting for Radio Drama.

Do You Prefer Fiction or Non-Fiction?

Another blowout! About 73 percent of you picked Fiction, while just 27.17 percent voted for Non-Fiction.

What’s Your Favorite Fiction Genre?

This is when the races start to get more competitive, with Mystery and Literary Fiction battling it out for the top spot. After a strong start, Mystery ended up losing to Literary Fiction — with the former coming in at 23.23 percent and the latter at 24.24 percent. After that, voters liked Fantasy (13.13 percent) and Thriller (10.1 percent) best. And, listeners least favorite genre was Chick Lit, which had just 1.01 percent of votes cast. Continue reading →