Audible is the name in audiobooks, and if you’ve bought an audiobook in the last decade, then there’s a good chance you’ve bought it from Audible.
That position means there’s been plenty of criticism of it, and a direct challenge from Spotify, but regardless, it continues to dominate the space.
Audible is probably best known for its credit system, where subscribers are given one credit a month to exchange for an audiobook.
Given how expensive audiobooks are, this massively boosted the accessibility of audiobooks for many.
With that in mind, a new, cheaper Audible subscription must be great, right? Unfortunately not.
Audible’s new Standard tier may make audiobooks cheaper than ever, but it’s terrible value, and you shouldn’t buy it.
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The myth of digital ownership
It shouldn’t be a surprise to you that we don’t own very much these days.
When you pick up a physical object and exchange money for it, then it’s likely you actually own it. You’re free to do what you want with it (within reason and legality), and you can give it away or sell it on as you see fit.
Not so with digital products.
Pretty much every digital product you buy online does not belong to you in a traditional sense. Instead, you own a license to access that product.
This applies to games you buy on Steam, books on your Kindle, and yes, the audiobooks on your Audible account.
What’s the difference? In short, it’s not really yours. You’ve essentially purchased a service, rather than a product, and the provider of that service is free to take it away whenever they need to.
That’s why we’ve seen e-books altered and edited, and even removed from services.
It’s part of why I don’t personally like Audible very much. The money I’ve spent there is locked into Audible for good, and if I ever choose to stop using it, then I lose everything I’ve paid for.
But, there is an upside to this.
As long as the audiobooks I’ve bought are available on Audible, I can at least listen to them. I don’t need an active subscription to listen to the audiobooks I’ve bought, which means I can subscribe whenever I need a new book, and then not spend anything until I’m ready for a new one.
That’s no longer possible under Audible’s new subscription, and it’s a big part of the reason it’s so bad.
So it’s Netflix for audiobooks?
When you think of a subscription service that you lose access to when you stop paying, you think of services like Netflix.
Pay per month, and you get full access to everything on the service. And when you stop paying, well, naturally you lose access to everything you used to enjoy.
So this is what Audible is doing, right? Unfortunately not. That niche is filled by Audible’s Plus subscription, so … what does Standard do?
The regular Audible subscription, Audible Premium, gives you one audiobook credit in exchange for $15 a month. Audible Standard also gives you an audiobook credit, but charges just $9 a month.
So what’s the catch? The catch is you need to stay subscribed to listen to your books.
On the Premium subscription, you can purchase a book with your credit, unsubscribe, and then listen to your book in peace. With audiobooks purchased using an Audible Standard credit, you cannot.
Want to listen to the audiobook you just purchased? Make sure you keep giving us money, because we don’t want you to pay us once for this title, we want you to pay us for it forever.
It’s naked, unashamed capitalism at its worst.
Keeping you locked in forever
If you’re a constant Audible subscriber, then this might not seem like a big deal.
After all, if you drop your subscription you lose access to all the bonus Included titles and podcasts, so it’s basically the same thing, right? But it’s not, not really.
We all know we’re paying for the credit, for the one audiobook a month that’s ours, that we bought. Everything else is a bonus, and we know that. But the credit? That’s ours.
But what if I’m always subscribed anyway? Sure, then it’s fine. Until it isn’t. Until circumstances change, and you have to give up some luxuries. Then, all of a sudden, you don’t have access to your vast library that you once had. And that’s going to sting.
But ultimately, it’s about money. To Audible, it’s better to have a subscriber who pays less but has to stay, than one who pays more, but only whenever they need a new book. Because if you’re a slow listener, that could be a while.
Ultimately, this is Audible lifting the veil. The veneer of ownership that we’ve all pretended we have has been removed with the Standard subscription, and Audible’s true colors are revealed.
At first glance, Audible Standard feels like a bargain. But it isn’t. Instead, it gives you even less control over the media you purchase, because you’re paying for it in perpetuity. It’s a terrible product, and you should not buy it.
