Analysis of a Media Artefact – Audio books (on cassette and CD)

Whilst audio books have been around since the early twentieth century (Joseph, 2009), recordings on cassettes and CD is still relatively new, despite it often being seen as old technology in this digital age. Cassettes began to be used in the 1960s, largely as part of collections in libraries but were not popular until the 80s, where “the audio publishing business grew to several billion dollars a year” (Anon, 2006). Although CD audio books were available as early as the late 1980s, they were not initially successful (Markovic, 2011). This is often thought to be because early CD technology was unable to remember where in the story you left off, unlike tapes which would be at the same place you left it the next time it was used.

Originally, audio books were developed for the blind and vision impaired to be able to ‘read’ books (Philips, 2007). The market then expanded into read-along books where those learning to read can hear the story as they read the book as well as books for commuters to listen to whilst on the train or home-makers whilst cleaning and so on. Of course, commuters were unable to listen on the train until the development of portable CD and cassette players so before this, audio books would be played in living rooms and perhaps bedrooms for all in the room to hear, tying them to a physical location and meaning that they needed to be suitable for anyone who might be able to hear, from young children to the elderly. This could also lead to differences in interpretation of the stories, as the situation surrounding the listener could alter their perspective.

In the 80s, when this technology first became popular, though many were unemployed, more people were going to work, particularly in professional sectors, and society became more focused on making money than family (Hicks, J and Allen, G, 1999). This can be linked to the way in which this medium was consumed and its rise in popularity. With more people, particularly executives with disposable income, commuting and working longer hours, people had less spare time in which to read. Audio books were practical ways of consuming literature whilst on the move, either in car cassette or CD players or on the train on Walkmans or similar devices. Read-along books could also have gained popularity around this time as parents had less time to spend with children and these would provide both entertainment and education.

From a technological determinist perspective, this would suggest that the format of audio books developed as technology improved. For example, as the technology became available for them to consume texts whilst on the move, they began using this and it became the norm. However, using Whig theory, you could suggest that people wanted their audio books to be more portable and durable. Compact Disks are less likely to get damaged than cassettes and are easily portable and the development of CD players and tape decks meant that both became equally portable. This was desired by the public as they spent less and less time at home.

Market theory could also be shown as a factor as the audio book industry realised that tape recorders meant that people could record copies or their own versions of book and so using CDs could combat this. This also meant that they could charge more for their product as CDs would last longer than tapes and therefore companies could make more profit. It would also suggest that the desire for portable audio books for commuters came as a way for companies to expand their market and therefore achieve greater profits.

Each of these perspectives have their own merits when looking at the progression and development of the audio book industry, with no particular argument seeming any more plausible than the other. However, what can be seen is that the technology, particularly in the audio book’s format, has been a natural progression through the improvement of technology. CDs surpassed cassettes as they could fit more content on them and were much more durable; they are less likely to deteriorate or be damaged than cassettes and are equally as portable.

Since then, downloads have become a popular medium for audio books amongst commuters; now you can fit hundreds of books onto your mp3 player, iPod or phone which can my played on headphones or through the speaker system of most modern cars. However, CD and cassette audio books still remain popular (Philips, 2007) and even vinyl audio books have made a comeback in recent years, in much the same way they have in the music world.

Sources:

Anon. (2005). Audio Publishers Association (APA) Fact Sheet. Available: http://www.audiopub.org/LinkedFiles/APA_Fact_Sheet.pdf. Last accessed 25th Feb 2012.

Anon. (2006). Evolution of Audio Books and Media Players. Available: http://booksalley.com/bAMain/bAlleyT02_Museum.php. Last accessed 25th Feb 2012.

Donalds, R. Ph.D. (200). Media and youth: access, exposure, and privatization. Journal of Adolescent Health. 27 (2), 8-14.

Francis, D. (2005). Changing Work Behavior of Married Women. Available: http://www.nber.org/digest/nov05/w11230.html. Last accessed 28th Feb 2012.

Hicks, J and Allen, G. (1999). A Century of Change: Trends in UK statistics since 1900. Social and General Statistics Section. Hous of Commons Library. p10-26.

Joseph, L . (2009). Cylinder Recordings. Available: http://www.cyberbee.com/edison/cylinder.html. Last accessed 26th Feb 2012

Kozloff, S. (1995). Audio Books in a Visual Culture. Journal of American Culture. 18 (4), p83-95.

Markovic, P. (2011). Audiobook CD. Available: http://audioforbooks.com/2011/01/cd-audio-books/. Last accessed 27th Feb 2012.

Philips, D. (2007). Talking Books : The Encounter of Literature and Technology in the Audio Book. Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies. 13 (3), p293-306.

Whitten, R. (2002). Growth of the audio publishing industry . Publishing Research Quarterly. 18 (3), p3-10.