Yogesh Dashrath
An IIM-Lucknow graduate, Mr. Dashrath comes with an experience of over 14years. His career started with working in the IT space with HCL technologies. Post which he worked with ING bank in Netherland and Prague before he had his passion calling him back to India to head Storytel. A bibliophile, he can always be seen reading a book or plotting his new story idea. It’s interesting how Storytel came to India- He was an IT professional working in Europe where he began using Storytel. Work did take up alot of time, where Storytel came handy in helping him catch up on audiobooks- He found himself in Storytel's office pitching to bring this concept to India.
Is there a possibility of Storytel owning an FM/Radio station dedicated to stories to tap into tier 2,3,4 markets in India and a huge segment of regional language audience? How is Storytel app seeing these markets?
At this point, we don’t foresee a plan of owning an FM station. Our focus pretty much remains on our application. Tier 2,3,4 markets in India are huge opportunities and we certainly have our focus on taking stories there as well. Earlier this year, we launched a “Select subscription plan” for one to access audiobooks in 11 regional languages. This comes from the insight where we see alot of our subscribers are enjoying stories in their mother tongue.
Why do you think audiobooks have gained more popularity and acceptance in recent years from the reader’s (listener) perspective?
There has been a significant increase in interest towards audiobooks as a whole. Given the current situation, there is more time in hand and it has encouraged users to catch up on their lost reading. Audiobooks are being preferred since they allow you to go handsfree- you are now enjoying a story while running your daily chores.
Talking about this year, we are seeing an increase in interest towards listening to stories. More and more people are signing up for a trial with us and are listening to stories. Storytel saw more than a doubling number of subscriptions. As people stayed home, listening to audiobooks became a good way to relax and reduce anxiety. In these difficult times, it is great to know that our customers find us useful to find solace and comfort.
Are there any additional benefits in publishing the book as an audiobook? What is the kind of royalty an author gets?
One advantage that I would say of having a book as an audiobook is the reach factor. Audiobooks are accessible and consumable for even those who cannot read the language yet understand the spoken dialect. For example, I understand spoken bengali, but miss out on a lot of literature because I cannot read it- but with audiobooks, an author can tap into that set of audience as well.
What are the most trending genres people listen to in audiobooks from different parts of India?
We always see Self-help, personal development to be the most preferred categories in audiobooks. These books are long and also cumbersome to read, with an audio format- it’s easier to consume.
English consumption is driven by Personal Development. While in Regional Languages. Classics are the most popular. Though we see increasing consumption of Crime & Romance across all languages.
I would like to mention that consumption is also very language-driven. When it comes to Hindi or Marathi- we see a lot of classics and thrillers being consumed.
While in English, Business books and biographies rule the roost. Originals are a series of 10 episodes that are created and recorded in-house in our studios- the content is exclusive to Storytel. These are written exclusively to be made into audio, unlike the books, which makes the narration much more interesting and gripping.
Our originals are into regional languages(Hindi, Marathi) created by a team of publishers here in India. The kind of content you will find ranges from kid stories, love stories- to having a series about demonetisation/beef ban, etc
The app has audio stories narrated by Anupam Kher, Konkona Sen Sharma, Prakash Raj, Soha Ali Khan, etc who very much keep up the local flavour.
There is a sizable number of young adults who consume regional content via OTT or TV but still struggle when it comes to reading a book in a regional language, that’s where audiobooks come into the picture.
How big is the audiobook market in India and globally?
Globally it is estimated that the audiobook market is approximately USD 4 Billion in 2020. And it is expected to grow to USD 20 Billion in the next ten years. At present, the trade book market (exclusive educational titles) in India is estimated to be anywhere from USD 500 million to USD 750 million. And if we imagine that even if 10% of the users also get used to audiobooks, we are looking for audio to add 10-20% to the industry.
It certainly has opened up alot of opportunities for voice actors and narrators
Do you see a similarity between the music industry and audiobooks? Will Storytel release titles (audiobooks) in third-party platforms like Spotify, Gana, Saavan, Wynk, YT music, etc?
Audiobooks and music are very different in nature, yet as an industry, we are one.
We have recently announced our association with Spotify, you can read about it here
At Sharing Stories, we have an ongoing campaign ‘Let’s Empower Our Youth. Please suggest some books that you think every young adult should read before the age of 15 (mostly the character-defining age), teaching them life lessons. Things like empathy, sympathy, relationships, etc.
Here is a link to some of the audiobooks we would like to recommend.
https://www.storytel.com/in/en/books/507663-The-Perks-of-Being-a-Wallflower
https://www.storytel.com/in/en/books/1942075-Think-Like-a-Monk
https://www.storytel.com/in/en/books/46832-To-Kill-a-Mockingbird
https://www.storytel.com/in/en/books/631951-The-Hunger-Games
Here is a list of titles for young teens on our application:- https://www.storytel.com/in/en/categories/16-Teens-Young-Adult
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