J.K. Rowling’s Beloved Harry Potter Digital Audiobooks Reach One Million Copies Sold on Audible
J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World Series Achieves Milestone Just Four
Months after Being Made Available to Audible Listeners
NEWARK, N.J.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Audible, Inc., the world’s largest seller and producer of downloadable
audiobooks and other spoken-word entertainment, today announced that
J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter digital audiobooks have sold one million
units at audible.com, audible.co.uk, audible.de and audible.com.au. This
milestone was reached only four months after Audible became the sole
subscription-based service to offer the series as digital audiobooks on
November 20th, 2015. The recordings showcase captivating and
award-winning performances by Jim Dale (in the North American version),
Felix von Manteuffel (in the German version) and Stephen Fry (in the UK
and the rest of the world). The North American version can be downloaded
in the U.S. at audible.com/HarryPotter.
“Decades after the release of J.K. Rowling’s celebrated series, there
has never been a better time to be a Harry Potter fan,” said Andy Gaies,
Audible’s Chief Content Officer. “Audible listeners are the most
voracious readers there are, and now that we’re able to offer the
opportunity to enjoy the Harry Potter series seamlessly through the
Audible service, our audience is clamoring for these wonderful stories.
We’re gratified that the series has picked up steam so quickly on
Audible, and look forward to bringing even more listeners to J.K.
Rowling’s richly imagined universe through our affordable platform.”
“These strong Audible sales figures demonstrate the continuing strength
and appeal of the Harry Potter series on any platform – print book,
eBook or digital audiobook,” said Susan L. Jurevics, Chief Executive
Officer, Pottermore. “The Harry Potter digital audiobooks are now more
accessible thanks to Audible’s ability to successfully connect with its
vast membership base. We look forward to growing the audience with
Audible and helping more users experience the joys and magic of J.K.
Rowling’s Wizarding World.”
With a 30-day membership trial at Audible, new listeners can enjoy any
one audiobook for free, including those in the Harry Potter catalog.
Pottermore, the digital publishing, e-commerce, entertainment and news
company from J.K. Rowling, is the global digital publisher of Harry
Potter and J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World. As the digital heart of J.K.
Rowling’s Wizarding World, pottermore.com is dedicated to unlocking the
power of imagination. It offers news, features, and articles as well as
new and previously unreleased writing by J.K. Rowling. The
Pottermore Shop, the company’s digital retail arm, will continue to
sell the Harry Potter digital audiobooks.
Audible, the world’s largest seller and producer of downloadable
audiobooks and other spoken-word content, invented and commercialized
the first digital audio player in 1997, and has since been at the
forefront of the explosively growing audiobook download segment. In
2015, listeners around the world downloaded 1.6 billion hours of audio
from Audible.com outlets; Audible members downloaded an average of more
than 17 books over the course of the year. Two thirds of new Audible
members are first-time audiobook buyers.
ABOUT AUDIBLE, INC.
Audible, Inc., an Amazon.com,
Inc. subsidiary (NASDAQ:AMZN), is the leading provider of premium
digital spoken audio information and entertainment, offering customers a
new way to enhance and enrich their lives every day. Audible was created
to unleash the emotive music in language and the habituating power and
utility of verbal expression. Audible content includes more than 250,000
audio programs from leading audiobook publishers, broadcasters,
entertainers, magazine and newspaper publishers, and business
information providers. Audible is also the preeminent provider of
spoken-word audio products for Apple’s iTunes Store.
Contacts
Audible.com
Esther Bochner, 973-820-0781
bochnere@audible.com
