Amazon has been almost effortlessly ruling the audiobook market and they have successfully remained on top but have they finally met their match in the newcomer? Google, quite possibly its the only equally matched rival in terms of net worth and how ubiquitous their products are in all of our lives, may be the one to finally disrupt the online retailer off the throne it sits on over the rest of us.
Google is planning on entering the book industry in a huge way by launching its own audiobook service, and it’s a pretty hefty service that may give Amazon’s Audible a run for its money. Audible, as most may know, is the dominating subscription-based service in audiobooks and podcasts. Google’s new service makes a point in saying it is not subscription-based, and it promises compatibility on iOS, your Android phone, your Google Watch, and whatever else you own that has “Google” stamped on it somewhere.
But who will win once the conglomerates have duked it out? There’s no telling who, honestly.
Amazon has a big edge over Google: it has long been disrupting the book industry, in fact, Amazon began life as a website to resell old books. It has now expanded in almost unimaginable ways as they continue to look towards buying other companies to gain massive footholds in its previously unentered markets like its recent Whole Foods acquisition that rocked the grocery industry and don’t forget all the rumblings that Amazon is considering purchasing Target as well.
Despite all these advantages Amazon may have, Google quite possibly may be the one company actually running the world. While it may not have had much of a presence in the book industry, Google is absolutely everywhere else and with all the time, effort, and money it’s pouring into research and development, Google is ensuring it’ll still be around long after any of us are dead. Not to mention, Google has so many products and services and with this new audiobook service, they promise seamlessness.
It’s a really tempting offer to buy into a service that promises you’ll be able to sync into your books from your Google phone, continue listening on your laptop through Google Chrome, and then have your Google Assistant read the rest of your book to you once you’re at home.
If they can deliver on the convenience they’re offering, there’s a good chance that Google will gain more of a foothold in the publishing industry and grow even further to knock Amazon down in its place.
Read more about just how Google is planning on taking over the realm of audiobooks at the Good eReader.