<s>
Audible	B-Application
is	O
an	O
American	O
online	O
audiobook	O
and	O
podcast	B-Operating_System
service	O
that	O
allows	O
users	O
to	O
purchase	O
and	O
stream	O
audiobooks	O
and	O
other	O
forms	O
of	O
spoken	O
word	O
content	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Audible	B-Application
is	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
 '	O
largest	O
audiobook	O
producer	O
and	O
retailer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
service	O
is	O
owned	O
by	O
Audible	B-Application
,	O
a	O
wholly-owned	O
subsidiary	O
of	O
Amazon.com,	O
Inc.	O
,	O
headquartered	O
in	O
Newark	O
,	O
New	O
Jersey	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
company	O
's	O
first	O
product	O
was	O
an	O
eponymous	O
portable	O
media	O
player	O
known	O
as	O
the	O
Audible	B-Application
MobilePlayer	O
;	O
released	O
in	O
1997	O
,	O
the	O
device	O
contained	O
around	O
four	O
megabytes	O
of	O
on-board	O
flash	B-Device
memory	I-Device
storage	O
,	O
which	O
could	O
hold	O
up	O
to	O
two	O
hours	O
of	O
audio	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
use	O
the	O
player	O
,	O
consumers	O
would	O
go	O
online	O
to	O
the	O
official	O
Audible	B-Application
website	O
,	O
download	O
the	O
audiobook	O
,	O
and	O
put	O
it	O
onto	O
the	O
player	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
October	O
24	O
,	O
1999	O
,	O
Audible	B-Application
suffered	O
a	O
setback	O
when	O
its	O
CEO	O
,	O
Andrew	O
J	O
.	O
Huffman	O
,	O
died	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Development	O
proceeded	O
,	O
however	O
,	O
leading	O
to	O
Audible	B-Application
licensing	O
the	O
ACELP	B-Algorithm
codec	O
for	O
its	O
downloads	O
in	O
2000	O
,	O
and	O
Amazon	B-Application
bought	O
a	O
5	O
percent	O
stake	O
in	O
the	O
then-publicly	O
traded	O
company	O
the	O
same	O
year	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2003	O
,	O
Audible	B-Application
reached	O
an	O
agreement	O
with	O
Apple	O
to	O
be	O
the	O
exclusive	O
provider	O
of	O
audiobooks	O
for	O
iTunes	B-Operating_System
Music	O
Store	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Two	O
years	O
later	O
,	O
the	O
service	O
released	O
"	O
Audible	B-Application
Air	O
"	O
,	O
which	O
allowed	O
users	O
to	O
download	O
audiobooks	O
directly	O
to	O
PDAs	B-Application
and	O
smartphones	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
January	O
31	O
,	O
2008	O
,	O
Amazon	B-Application
announced	O
they	O
would	O
purchase	O
Audible	B-Application
for	O
about	O
$300	O
million	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
April	O
of	O
that	O
year	O
,	O
Audible	B-Application
began	O
producing	O
exclusive	O
science	O
fiction	O
and	O
fantasy	O
audiobooks	O
under	O
its	O
"	O
Audible	B-Application
Frontiers	I-Application
"	O
imprint	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
platform	O
was	O
so	O
successful	O
that	O
in	O
2012	O
,	O
Audible	B-Application
reported	O
it	O
had	O
received	O
more	O
titles	O
from	O
ACX	O
than	O
from	O
its	O
top	O
three	O
audio	O
providers	O
combined	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
March	O
2012	O
,	O
Audible	B-Application
launched	O
the	O
A-List	O
Collection	O
,	O
a	O
series	O
showcasing	O
Hollywood	O
stars	O
including	O
Claire	O
Danes	O
,	O
Colin	O
Firth	O
,	O
Anne	O
Hathaway	O
,	O
Dustin	O
Hoffman	O
,	O
Samuel	O
L	O
.	O
Jackson	O
,	O
Diane	O
Keaton	O
,	O
Nicole	O
Kidman	O
,	O
and	O
Kate	O
Winslet	O
performing	O
great	O
works	O
of	O
literature	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
service	O
began	O
offering	O
its	O
narration	O
workshops	O
at	O
acting	O
schools	O
,	O
including	O
Juilliard	O
and	O
Tisch	O
School	O
of	O
the	O
Arts	O
;	O
in	O
2013	O
,	O
Audible	B-Application
's	O
CEO	O
speculated	O
that	O
the	O
company	O
was	O
the	O
largest	O
single	O
employer	O
of	O
actors	O
in	O
the	O
New	O
York	O
area	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
September	O
2012	O
,	O
Audible	B-Application
introduced	O
a	O
feature	O
known	O
as	O
"	O
Whispersync	O
for	O
Voice	O
"	O
,	O
which	O
allows	O
users	O
to	O
continue	O
audiobooks	O
from	O
where	O
they	O
left	O
off	O
reading	O
them	O
on	O
Amazon	B-General_Concept
Kindle	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
July	O
2019	O
,	O
a	O
new	O
feature	O
was	O
announced	O
called	O
Audible	B-Application
Captions	O
,	O
in	O
which	O
machine-generated	O
text	O
would	O
be	O
displayed	O
alongside	O
the	O
audio	O
narration	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
lawsuit	O
was	O
settled	O
in	O
early	O
2020	O
,	O
with	O
Audible	B-Application
agreeing	O
not	O
to	O
implement	O
the	O
Captions	O
feature	O
without	O
obtaining	O
express	O
permission	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
November	O
2020	O
,	O
Audible	B-Application
modified	O
its	O
return	O
and	O
exchange	O
policy	O
in	O
response	O
to	O
concerns	O
by	O
authors	O
,	O
who	O
felt	O
that	O
customers	O
were	O
abusing	O
the	O
policy	O
to	O
listen	O
to	O
audiobooks	O
without	O
paying	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Audible	B-Application
's	O
content	O
includes	O
more	O
than	O
200,000	O
audio	O
programs	O
from	O
audiobook	O
publishers	O
,	O
broadcasters	O
,	O
entertainers	O
,	O
magazine	O
and	O
newspaper	O
publishers	O
and	O
business	O
information	O
providers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
service	O
offered	O
two	O
monthly	O
subscription	O
tiers	O
,	O
"	O
Audible	B-Application
Gold	O
"	O
and	O
"	O
Audible	B-Application
Platinum	O
"	O
,	O
priced	O
at	O
US	O
$14.95	O
and	O
$22.95	O
respectively	O
:	O
Both	O
services	O
allow	O
users	O
to	O
obtain	O
credits	O
which	O
can	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
purchase	O
audio	O
books	O
(	O
one	O
whole	O
credit	O
for	O
Gold	O
,	O
and	O
two	O
whole	O
credits	O
on	O
Platinum	O
)	O
,	O
while	O
Platinum	O
also	O
included	O
additional	O
incentives	O
such	O
as	O
exclusive	O
discounts	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
August	O
24	O
,	O
2020	O
,	O
Audible	B-Application
replaced	O
both	O
plans	O
with	O
"	O
Audible	B-Application
Premium	O
Plus	O
"	O
(	O
a	O
renaming	O
of	O
Gold	O
,	O
though	O
with	O
the	O
Platinum	O
pricing	O
and	O
credits	O
grandfathered	O
for	O
existing	O
subscribers	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
introduced	O
a	O
new	O
$7.95	O
subscription	O
tier	O
known	O
as	O
"	O
Audible	B-Application
Plus.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Both	O
tiers	O
include	O
access	O
to	O
a	O
curated	O
on-demand	O
library	O
of	O
audiobooks	O
,	O
podcasts	B-Operating_System
,	O
and	O
other	O
original	O
productions	O
,	O
while	O
the	O
Audible	B-Application
Plus	O
tier	O
does	O
not	O
include	O
credits	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
May	O
2015	O
,	O
Audible	B-Application
hired	O
Eric	O
Nuzum	O
,	O
formerly	O
VP	O
of	O
programming	O
at	O
NPR	O
,	O
as	O
its	O
SVP	O
of	O
original	O
content	O
development	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2016	O
,	O
the	O
service	O
introduced	O
an	O
on-demand	O
service	O
known	O
as	O
"	O
Audible	B-Application
Channels	O
"	O
,	O
which	O
features	O
short-form	O
audio	O
programming	O
from	O
various	O
outlets	O
,	O
including	O
news	O
and	O
other	O
original	O
productions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Access	O
is	O
included	O
as	O
part	O
of	O
Audible	B-Application
's	O
subscription	O
,	O
and	O
also	O
became	O
available	O
to	O
Amazon	B-Application
Prime	O
subscribers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Nuzum	O
compared	O
this	O
strategy	O
to	O
original	O
content	O
created	O
by	O
HBO	O
or	O
Netflix	O
,	O
and	O
stated	O
that	O
the	O
service	O
deliberately	O
avoided	O
use	O
of	O
the	O
word	O
"	O
podcast	B-Operating_System
"	O
as	O
to	O
not	O
alienate	O
listeners	O
unfamiliar	O
with	O
the	O
concept	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Among	O
its	O
original	O
productions	O
are	O
Where	O
Should	O
We	O
Begin	O
?	O
—	O
a	O
relationship	O
podcast	B-Operating_System
with	O
Esther	O
Perel	O
,	O
Sincerely	O
,	O
X'''—a	O
podcast	B-Operating_System
featuring	O
anonymous	O
TED	O
Talks	O
,	O
Ponzi	O
Supernova	O
—	O
a	O
chronicle	O
of	O
the	O
Madoff	O
investment	O
scandal	O
,	O
The	O
Butterfly	O
Effect	O
—	O
a	O
podcast	B-Operating_System
series	O
by	O
Jon	O
Ronson	O
chronicling	O
the	O
impact	O
of	O
PornHub	O
on	O
internet	O
pornography	O
,	O
and	O
West	O
Cork	O
,	O
a	O
true	B-Application
crime	I-Application
podcast	B-Operating_System
investigating	O
an	O
unsolved	O
1996	O
murder	O
in	O
West	O
Cork	O
,	O
Ireland	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
August	O
2018	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
reported	O
that	O
Nuzum	O
was	O
stepping	O
down	O
,	O
and	O
that	O
Amazon	B-Application
had	O
laid	O
off	O
most	O
of	O
the	O
short-form	O
content	O
staff	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
move	O
came	O
amid	O
a	O
shift	O
in	O
Audible	B-Application
's	O
original	O
content	O
strategy	O
,	O
including	O
a	O
greater	O
focus	O
on	O
"	O
audiobook-first	O
"	O
deals	O
with	O
writers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
new	O
tier	O
,	O
called	O
Premium	O
Plus	O
,	O
provided	O
access	O
at	O
the	O
time	O
of	O
introduction	O
to	O
11,000	O
audio	O
titles	O
available	O
only	O
by	O
subscription	O
to	O
Audible	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Audible	B-Application
audio	O
files	O
are	O
compatible	O
with	O
hundreds	O
of	O
audio	O
players	O
,	O
PDAs	B-Application
,	O
mobile	O
phones	O
and	O
streaming	O
media	O
devices.How	O
Audible	B-Application
Works	O
,	O
How	O
Audible	B-Application
works	O
at	O
audible.com,	O
April	O
22	O
,	O
2007	O
Devices	O
that	O
do	O
not	O
have	O
AudibleAir	O
capability	O
(	O
allowing	O
users	O
to	O
download	O
content	O
from	O
their	O
library	O
directly	O
into	O
their	O
devices	O
)	O
require	O
a	O
Windows	O
PC	O
or	O
Macintosh	O
to	O
download	O
the	O
files	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Additionally	O
,	O
titles	O
can	O
be	O
played	O
on	O
the	O
PC	O
(	O
using	O
iTunes	B-Operating_System
or	O
AudibleManager	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
Audible	B-Application
's	O
website	O
,	O
they	O
can	O
be	O
burned	O
to	O
CD	O
using	O
Apple	B-Operating_System
's	I-Operating_System
iTunes	I-Operating_System
and	O
some	O
versions	O
of	O
Nero	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Currently	O
there	O
is	O
no	O
support	O
for	O
Linux	B-Application
,	O
although	O
AudibleManager	O
is	O
known	O
to	O
work	O
through	O
Wine	B-Application
(	O
though	O
this	O
is	O
not	O
officially	O
supported	O
by	O
Audible	B-Application
)	O
.Audible.com	O
and	O
Linux	B-Application
...	O
Arghh	O
,	O
Todd	O
Partridge	O
(	O
Gen2ly	O
)	O
,	O
Audible.com	B-Application
and	O
Linux	B-Application
...	O
</s>
<s>
Prospective	O
buyers	O
of	O
media	O
players	O
can	O
check	O
the	O
audible.com	B-Application
"	O
Device	O
Center	O
"	O
to	O
verify	O
whether	O
the	O
device	O
will	O
play	O
.aa	O
files	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
play	O
them	O
at	O
the	O
desired	O
level	O
of	O
audio	O
fidelity	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Audible	B-Application
players	O
are	O
available	O
on	O
Apple	O
iPhones	O
,	O
iPods	O
,	O
Android	B-Application
,	O
and	O
Windows	O
Phone	O
devices	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Audible	B-Application
App	O
allows	O
for	O
the	O
downloading	O
and	O
playing	O
of	O
audio	O
books	O
purchased	O
via	O
Audible.com	B-Application
and	O
allows	O
the	O
user	O
to	O
store	O
multiple	O
titles	O
for	O
play	O
on	O
mobile	O
devices	O
using	O
the	O
AA	O
file	O
format	O
developed	O
by	O
Audible	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
following	O
qualities	O
have	O
been	O
available	O
from	O
Audible	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Audible	B-Application
's	O
.aa	O
file	O
format	O
encapsulates	O
sound	O
encoded	O
in	O
either	O
MP3	B-Application
or	O
the	O
ACELP	B-Algorithm
speech	O
codec	O
,	O
but	O
includes	O
unauthorized-playback	O
prevention	O
by	O
means	O
of	O
an	O
Audible	B-Application
username	O
and	O
password	O
,	O
which	O
can	O
be	O
used	O
on	O
up	O
to	O
four	O
computers	O
and	O
three	O
smartphones	B-Application
at	O
a	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Audible	B-Application
's	O
content	O
can	O
only	O
be	O
played	O
on	O
selected	O
mobile	O
devices	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Because	O
of	O
the	O
CD	O
issue	O
,	O
Audible	B-Application
's	O
use	O
of	O
digital	O
rights	O
management	O
on	O
its	O
.aa	O
format	O
has	O
earned	O
it	O
criticism.Why	O
I	O
Wo	O
n't	O
Be	O
Adding	O
Audible.com	B-Application
to	O
My	O
Xmas	O
Card	O
List	O
,	O
O'Reilly	O
Mac	O
DevCenter	O
Blog	O
,	O
January	O
3	O
,	O
2003	O
While	O
multiple	O
software	O
products	O
are	O
capable	O
of	O
removing	O
the	O
Audible	B-Application
DRM	O
''	O
protection	O
by	O
re-encoding	O
in	O
other	O
formats	O
,	O
Audible	B-Application
has	O
been	O
quick	O
to	O
threaten	O
the	O
software	O
makers	O
with	O
lawsuits	O
for	O
discussing	O
or	O
promoting	O
this	O
ability	O
,	O
as	O
happened	O
with	O
River	O
Past	O
Corp	O
and	O
GoldWave	B-Application
Inc	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Responses	O
have	O
varied	O
,	O
with	O
River	O
Past	O
removing	O
the	O
capability	O
from	O
their	O
software	O
,	O
and	O
GoldWave	B-Application
retaining	O
the	O
capability	O
,	O
but	O
censoring	O
discussions	O
about	O
the	O
ability	O
in	O
its	O
support	O
forums	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
But	O
there	O
are	O
still	O
many	O
other	O
software	O
tools	O
from	O
non-US	O
countries	O
which	O
easily	O
bypass	O
the	O
DRM	O
control	O
of	O
Audible	B-Application
by	O
various	O
methods	O
,	O
including	O
sound	O
recording	O
,	O
virtual	O
CD	O
burning	O
,	O
and	O
even	O
using	O
a	O
media	O
plugin	O
library	O
once	O
provided	O
by	O
Audible	B-Application
themselves	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
Apple	O
's	O
abandonment	O
of	O
most	O
DRM	O
measures	O
,	O
Amazon	B-Application
's	O
downloads	O
ceasing	O
to	O
use	O
it	O
,	O
Audible	B-Application
's	O
DRM	O
system	O
is	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
few	O
remaining	O
in	O
place	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
Audible	B-Application
listings	O
displayed	O
to	O
non-U.S.	O
customers	O
are	O
geo-blocked	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
Audible	B-Application
,	O
this	O
is	O
because	O
the	O
publisher	O
who	O
has	O
provided	O
the	O
title	O
does	O
not	O
have	O
the	O
rights	O
to	O
distribute	O
the	O
file	O
in	O
a	O
given	O
region	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
were	O
hopes	O
that	O
Amazon	B-Application
,	O
after	O
its	O
purchase	O
of	O
Audible	B-Application
,	O
would	O
remove	O
the	O
DRM	O
from	O
its	O
audiobook	O
selection	O
,	O
in	O
keeping	O
with	O
the	O
current	O
trend	O
in	O
the	O
industry	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Nevertheless	O
,	O
Audible	B-Application
's	O
products	O
continue	O
to	O
have	O
DRM	O
,	O
similar	O
to	O
the	O
policy	O
of	O
DRM-protecting	O
their	O
Kindle	B-General_Concept
e-books	O
,	O
which	O
have	O
DRM	O
that	O
allows	O
for	O
a	O
finite	O
,	O
yet	O
undisclosed	O
number	O
of	O
downloads	O
at	O
the	O
discretion	O
of	O
the	O
publisher	O
,	O
however	O
Audible	B-Application
titles	O
that	O
are	O
DRM	O
free	O
can	O
be	O
copied	O
to	O
the	B-General_Concept
Kindle	I-General_Concept
and	O
made	O
functional	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Audible	B-Application
is	O
able	O
to	O
offer	O
DRM-free	O
titles	O
for	O
content	O
providers	O
who	O
wish	O
to	O
do	O
so	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
FFmpeg	O
2.8.1	O
+	O
is	O
capable	O
of	O
playing	O
Audible	B-Application
's	O
.aa	O
and	O
.aax	O
file	O
formats	O
natively	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Audible	B-Application
operates	O
the	O
Audiobook	O
Creation	O
Exchange	O
,	O
which	O
enables	O
individual	O
authors	O
or	O
publishers	O
to	O
work	O
with	O
professional	O
actors	O
and	O
producers	O
to	O
create	O
audiobooks	O
,	O
which	O
are	O
then	O
distributed	O
to	O
Amazon	B-Application
and	O
iTunes	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
Audible	B-Application
produces	O
10,000	O
titles	O
a	O
year	O
and	O
may	O
be	O
the	O
largest	O
employer	O
of	O
actors	O
in	O
New	O
York	O
City	O
.	O
</s>
