What are Audiobooks?

Are you an author who wants to lend a voice to the written words? Or a book lover, who so wishes that books could talk? Well, then all you need is a good audiobook publisher.

Audiobooks publishing companies in India create and distribute audiobooks also called  ‘talking books’, which are the audio recordings of already written content. They are an emerging and engaging medium of accessing literature. With all the voice modulations, intonations, characterization, and audio engineering, they make for a truly immersive listening experience for the booklovers.

Disclaimer: The list furnished in this article does not indicate any ranking based on quality of services provided by these companies. This is just a collated list of companies operating in this industry. We do not claim any ownership of the accuracy of the data furnished in this article. The readers are requested only to use this as an information for reference and is requested to get in touch with the companies directly to understand their services and service quality. The information provided here is curated based on existing information available on public domain. Any discrepancies in data observed and suggested by readers or the companies directly shall be ammended.

What are the differences between Audiobooks and Podcasts

Audiobooks are already written books converted to audio. Their content is scripted and mostly released in a single go, though it may also be in serialized form. While podcasts are unscripted episodic content. The overlap lies only in the case of scripted serialized content which can be categorized as either of the two.

Should I listen to Audiobooks?

Audiobooks are the Future of the Publishing Industry. Listening to stories is an experience in itself. With rushed lifestyles, nuclear families, and pandemic woes, a lot of people are moving towards digital audio to revive that old-world charm. The convenience of enjoying the stories on the go, without actually having to read is seducing readers. Thus, audiobooks have become the fastest-growing segment of the publishing industry, expected to grow at a rate of higher than 10% per annum. In the top global publishing markets like the USA, audiobooks cater to over 12% market, second to the only paperback. Over the last few years, the audiobooks have displaced Ebooks to be the second-biggest mode of publishing.

So if you are an author who wants to cash upon this emerging medium and expand his reader base or a reader who wants to lose himself in the world of engaging narrations, Indian audiobook publishers 2020 can give you a good headstart. Here’s a list of eight digital audiobook publishers available in India for your reference.

Challenges in Audiobooks compared to Ebooks ?

Since audiobooks are a new trend in the book publishing market, it has certain challenges for large-scale deployment in a price-sensitive market like India. Audiobooks need a couple of additional works which demand certain skills and comes at an additional cost. Once, the manuscript is completed, the author needs to find a good narrator, a recording studio, and also an audio editor to roll out the final work into the market. each of these stages demands additional effort, time, and money. But, based on various research conducted recently, people in developed markets with a fast-paced lifestyle prefer audiobooks over ebooks. This is reflected in the bigger market share of audiobooks compared to ebooks in certain parts of the world. This is also attributed to the penetration of handheld mobile devices over Kindle or other ebook readers.

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Best Audiobook Publishing Companies In India

The list of popular Audio book Production companies in India:

The Write Order

Looking to transform your book into an engaging audiobook? Look no further than The Write Order! Here’s why they’re the perfect audiobook publisher for you:

• Immersive Narration: Their team of skilled voice artists brings your book to life with their captivating narration, creating an immersive experience that keeps listeners hooked from start to finish.
• Professional Production: With state-of-the-art recording studios and sound engineers, they ensure top-notch audio quality and seamless production that meets industry standards.
• Extensive Distribution: They have partnerships with major audiobook platforms, ensuring wide distribution and maximum exposure for your audiobook across various channels.
• Tailored Solutions: They understand that every book is unique, and they offer customized solutions to suit your specific requirements, ensuring that your audiobook reflects your style and vision.

Audible India

Audible, the company owned by Amazon, is the global audiobook market leader. It is one of the best audiobook platforms in India. It forayed into the Indian spoken audiobook industry in 2018.

• Through its Audiobook creation exchange (ACX), it provides technical and narrative assistance to enable authors and publishers to create their audiobooks.
• All of its digital audio content is compatible with the Apple iTunes music store, Kindle, mobile phones, and other streaming media devices.
• It has more than 200,000 titles available for its subscribers in India including illustrious authors such as Rashmi Bansal, Shashi Tharoor, Rabindranath Tagore, Ashwin Sanghi, Preeti Shenoy, and Ruskin Bond.

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Storytel

This Swedish audiobook streaming subscription major also ventured into the Indian markets of Audiobook recording companies in 2018 with a strong focus on vernacular and India-centric titles.

• It has 120,000 audio and e-books, chat stories, and podcasts in its libraries on offer
• With further plans to publish 1000 audio titles in 2021 for the Indian market including books in Hindi, Malayalam, Bengali, Marathi, and other Indian languages.
• It also has in-house recording and production capabilities to assist authors in the production of their studio titles
• It is extensively leveraging its tie-ups with local publishers like HarperCollins India, Karadi Tales Penguin Random House, to customize its offerings for the Indian readers.

Google audiobook India

In 2018, Google launched its audiobooks on its play store in 44 countries including India. Since then the world’s most downloaded app  (Google Play Books) player is stretching its foothold in the Indian digital publishing industry.

• The Play Store has millions of Indian audiobooks (such asJhumpaLahiri’s Unaccustomed Earth, Astrophysics For People In A Hurry by Neil Degrasse Tyson, One Night At The Call Center by ChetanBhagat) available in multiple genres which can be read with google –assistant, or google play-book app.
• Unlike audible and Storeytel, it offers all its digital titles subscription-free on its play store.
• With its google read-aloud app, it has one-upped its game by eliminating the need for narrators and audio engineers, albeit sans natural sounds and voice intonations.

Penguin Random House Audio

Penguin Random House is a renowned name in the global book publishing industry when it comes to producing top-quality audiobooks from the most-read authors of India.

• Its illustrious author audio titles include Ruskin Bond’s book in his voice besides the audio versions of the books from DevduttPattanaik, Sudha Murty, Khustwant Singh, DurjoyDatta, Ravinder Singh, and Gaur Gopal Das.
• Other than English its spoken files-rich collection entails Hindi Marathi, Gujarati, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Bengali, and Urdu book audios.

Kobo

The fifth number of Audiobook publishers 2020 is Kobo. Kobo, the Canadian company, deals in e-books, e-readers, audiobooks, and reading apps.

• It is operational in more than 25 markets including India with a subscriber base of close to 38 million.
• It has its own e-publishing portal.
• All its audiobooks are compatible with Android devices, iPhones, and Ipad.

Karadi Tales

Karadi Tales, a subsidiary of Amar Chitra Katha, is one of the leading publishing houses for picture books and audiobooks for children. Based out of Chennai and operational since 1996, it houses a vast collection of books from biographies to folklores to rhymes for children.

• Its huge array of audiobooks have been narrated by celebrated Indian film and theatre personalities.
• All are set to classical Indian music giving a taste of rich Indian culture to the children.
• Their audiobooks can be easily sourced from Audible and Google Play stores.

Kannadhasan Pathippagam

It’s a hyperlocal audiobook publisher and translator with a very strong marketing and distribution network in Tamil Nadu. Having published some well-known authors such as Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, Agatha Christie, Allan Pease, it has created its name credibility and reach amongst the Tamilian readers. It houses a vast collection of audiobooks for its target geographic readers.

Orange book publishers

Based out of Kolkata, Orange publishers, have the requisite audiobook publishing skills and technical–know to convert the prints to audio. It has in-house capabilities of voice-over, studio recordings, and sound engineering. It has a huge gallery of Bengali and English publications.

Cedar House Audio Productions

Cedar House is an independent recording and production company for spoken titles. Based out of the US, it specializes in producing audiobooks, podcasts, audio tours, and voice-acting for video games. They have some illustrious Indian authors’ audiobook files in their catalog which include, The God of Small Things, Arundhati Roy and The Palace of Illusions, Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni.