By Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief | @Porter_Anderson
‘More Intuitive’
As audio continues to punch upward in many world markets’ book-publishing statistics, we’ve become more accustomed to announcements about new numbers of subscribers and titles than about the quality of a listener’s experience.
Stockholm’s Storytel on Wednesday (September 24) stepped around that norm and announced “innovative product features to elevate the user experience.” It can be argued, of course, that the 20-year-old company originally established as the “Bokilur” audiobook service enjoys such pervasive penetration in the audio-avid Nordic markets that maybe there’s a bit more leeway for such niceties as quality-of-experience.
Johan Ståhle
But Johan Ståhle, the company’s product and tech lead, says, “Our mission is to open the doors to the magical world of stories for as many people as possible.”
He refers to the newly announced enhancements as “a suite of innovative new product features designed to significantly improve, enhance, and enrich the reading and listening experience.
“We believe life is better with great stories and these features will make discovering and engaging with them more intuitive and even more enjoyable. Product innovation is a key part of our strategy and this is just the opening chapter of many new and exciting updates arriving this fall.”
Bodil Ericsson Torp
It’s worth noting that Storytel’s CEO, Bodil Ericsson Torp, is still in her first year in the corner office—she started on October 1 last year—and that Ståhle’s progress on quality-of-experience issues may be something that she has helped to promote to the point of this week’s announcement.
‘Synched Listening’
One feature being highlighted may be something for those working in the field of accessibility for readers, following the June 28 implementation of the European Accessibility Act: a “read and listen” feature that synchs up a word-by-word visual highlighting capacity with the auditory reading. So as you read, each word is being goosed up in the text. The benefits of this functionality, the company says, include assisting readers-listeners with navigation, staying engaged, and “quickly re-entering the context” of an audiobook.
“With this feature,” the company’s media messaging says, “users can easily check a sentence they didn’t quite hear or see how a certain name is spelled. This is an update for anyone seeking a completely immersive reading experience, especially those with concentration difficulties or individuals learning to read or learning a new language.”
This synched listening functionality is reportedly rolling out first to home-market Swedish users on “titles from selected publishers who have opted in for being a part of this launch,” starting today. Rollouts in more markets are to follow “in the upcoming months.”
‘Story Scan’
A camera-search feature creates a way to search for books. Take a shot of a book cover that catches your eye using your phone. If Storytel has the book, the system will identify the title and provide either the audiobook or ebook edition.
“It’s about empowering the users to engage with books on their own terms,” the company says, “whether they prefer the physical book or the audiobook.”
The rollout of this feature should begin in all markets in which Storytel operates, beginning September 29.
Dolby Atmos Partnership
Allowing publishers to upload audiobooks with Dolby Atmos, Storytel says, will mean listeners get more clarity and depth, the effects of directional sound, for “an unparalleled level of immersion.” The company plans to release a group of titles made with Dolby Atmos spatial sound technology during the season.
Smoother Search and a “USBN”
Storytel also expects in October to introduce searching inside audiobooks and ebooks, particularly in nonfiction titles
In addition, a “USBN” has been developed to replace the ISBN as “a new type of identifier of audiobooks that connects different editions, formats and translations under one universal identifier. The result is an experience that significantly improves recommendations and the personalized experience for users.”
Starting October 20, the USBN is to become active and to take care of the problem that “an ISBN doesn’t show whether two titles are just different editions of the same work. As a result, if a user searches for The Great Gatsby, they may be served many separate versions of the same book, making discovery harder than it needs to be.”
The new USBN should be able to handle this, the company says.
A Programming Note
As part of its afternoon audio sequence on October 15, Frankfurt Studio and Publishing Perspectives Forum will have a 30-minute sequence in which Richard Addis of Dolby Europe—where his work involves Dolby Atmos—will join Beat Technology’s Nathan Hull and Treefort Media’s Kelly Garner to discuss premium audio services such as multi-cast productions, soundtracks, Foley sound effects, and how publishers can engage with this future of audio.
That session runs 3:30 to 4 p.m. at Frankfurt Studio, Hall 4.0 just off the Agora, on “Frankfurt Wednesday,” October 15.
Before that half-hour, Dumont Publishing’s Sabine Cramer and Bonnier Books UK’s Jon Watt will join Publishing Perspectives‘ Porter Anderson in a discussion about independent publishers’ approach to handling audiobooks, and some of the ethical issues that artificial intelligence may bring to bear on audio for publishers and their consumers. That part of the hour runs 3 to 3:30 p.m.
More from Publishing Perspectives on Storytel is here, more on digital publishing is here, more on audiobooks is here, and more on industry statistics is here.
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