Time to read: Exploring the timespaces of subscription-based audiobooks

Abstract

With remediation of the printed book into audiobook subscription services, reading by listening is becoming a popular alternative to reading by seeing. This article explores when people read by listening and whether there may be a shift regarding the places and times people read by listening rather than by seeing. Based on a considerable dataset from a Swedish subscription service for digital books, this article reveals that audiobook reading takes place at somewhat different times than expected and that subscribers read significant amounts each day. The findings indicate that the remediation into reading by listening using digital audiobooks may close the gender gap common in reading, as the reading practices of men and women are very similar, with men even reading slightly more than women. The reading practices of young adults are also similar to the larger population. Furthermore, the concepts stationary reading, mobile reading and stationary/mobile reading are introduced.

Reading by listening: conceptualising audiobook practices in the age of streaming subscription services

“…The services operating on ideas of access rather than ownership can be understood to be following a library model. This type of access-based model can be said to be an homage to libraries in several ways, the most apparent being that users can borrow and read the books available in the catalogue, but not keep and own the books afterwards (Tattersall Wallin and Nolin, 2020). The idea behind the library model has already been well established by other streaming subscription services like Spotify and Netflix, although perhaps not understood using the concept proposed here.…”

“…It may therefore also be helpful to talk about mobile reading, stationary reading and stationary/mobile reading (Tattersall Wallin and Nolin, 2020). Unlike many other remediations of the book, the digital audiobook allows for the user to move around and use their hands and eyes while listening to a book, making it a form of mobile reading.…”

“…Such listening practices are going through substantial changes. The mobility offered by digital audiobooks make it possible for reading activities to be carried out in novel ways compared to previously, at different times and in different places (Tattersall Wallin and Nolin, 2020). With convenient platforms and instantaneous access to a wide range of audiobooks offered through the various subscription services, these activities are becoming more mainstream.…”

Streaming media

“…In this sense, streaming leads to a remediation of literature while also allowing readers to experience literature in new ways and to create new reading practices (see e.g. Burkey, 2013;Have & Pedersen, 2015;Rubery, 2011;Th ompson, 2012;Wallin & Nolin, 2020). Whereas adoption of e-books has been slow (Bergström & Höglund, 2020), subscription-based audiobook services off er a reading experience that represent a shift in how and when books are read (Wallin & Nolin, 2020).…”

Streaming across industries

“…Streaming is changing the cultural industries, but in diverse ways and at diff erent paces. While the shift towards streaming is most pronounced in the music industry (Hagen, 2015;Spilker, 2018;Wikström, 2013), the fi lm and television industries have similar trends (Bruun, 2020;Johnson, 2019;Sundet, 2021), and even the book industry is seeing the impact of the streaming model, particularly for digital audiobooks (Colbjørnsen, 2015;Have & Pedersen, 2020;Tattersall & Nolin, 2020). Across industries, global platforms such as Spotify, YouTube, Netfl ix, Disney and Amazon have gained vital positions, challenging incumbent industry players-content creators, publishers/distributors, and national streaming providers-and their business models and practices (Cunningham & Silver, 2013;Evens & Donders, 2018;Lobato, 2019).…”