Earful of Books Acquires Audiobookcafe.com

Earful of Books, Inc. (EFOB), the nation's first and oldest audiobooks-only chain, has bought controlling interest (90%) n Audiobookcafe.com, a six-month-old Internet site that has emerged as the prime destination for audiobook-related content. Terms of the investment were not disclosed.

Paul Rush, President of Earful of Books -- a 16-unit "superstore" operation based in Austin, Texas -- will serve on the board of Pearlman & Baine Media LLC (P&B), parent company of Audiobookcafe.com. Jessica Kaye, President of The Publishing Mills, has recently become a partner in P&B.

Mark Baer of Los Angeles and Barbara Minette of Kansas City, co-founders of the site and partners in P&B, said their on-line audiobook magazine is already averaging more than 100,000 "hits" or visits a month because of its "robust and constantly changing content, its upbeat, interactive approach and its cadre of respected writers and reviewers. Site visitors to the Cafe can easily access titles for rental or purchase from EFOB's new e-store, Earful.com.

"The objective of our relationship is to prove up the 'bricks-and-clicks' concept in the audiobooks marketplace," said Rush, founder of the eight-year-old Earful operation. "We will demonstrate that a bricks-and-mortar operation and an Internet site can jointly generate new interest and excitement in this area of listening entertainment." Rush also is president of the Audio Publishers Association, a 700-member trade organization.

Digital Initiative

"The mission of our magazine is to enhance the customer's experience within the Earful store by providing commentaries, a sense of community and a closer connection to the players in the audiobooks industry," Baer said. "We will help develop Earful's on-line presence.

The two Internet producers also will be tasked to take Earful to the forefront of downloading and streaming of digital content in the audiobook marketplace.

"Earful knows both retail and e-commerce fulfillment and how to make customers happy either way," he noted. "Pearlman & Baine will add the dimension of timely electronic delivery demanded by digitally-inclined consumers. A related development will be announced later this month."

Robust, Resource-full, Respected

Audiobookcafe.com, tagged "Where spoken word is spoken about," does not currently take advertising, although it receives numerous inquiries.

"I believe interest in advertising is intense because the website provides excellent exposure to the target audience of audiobook and book consumers," Minette said. "We plan to accept paid advertising space, but our standards for its look and 'feel' are very high. There won't be any infuriating flashing banners or pop-ups on Audiobookcafe.com."

"The Cafe provides a showcase for an eclectic combination of popular contemporary works and wonderful books that have, until now, not received well-deserved exposure," Minette stated. "There are so many talented writers' works that don't make in onto the limited shelf space allotted to audiobooks in bookstores. We also cover a full range of the classics, from the legendary to the obscure."

The website features interviews with favorite authors, narrators, publishers, producers and illustrators. Free downloads of audiobooks and interviews are frequently available. The "Audiobookcafe.com Bestseller List" is updated weekly and now available for pick-up by newspapers. The "Editors' Picks" consist of all-time favorites of the site's staff writers.

"We've gathered together the top people in this industry, which is what makes us hard to copy," she emphasizes. "Syndicated columnist Rochelle O'Gorman, the leading audio critic in the country who won an Audie award for her work last year, and Frank Muller, considered by many as the industry's leading narrator, are just two examples.

"We differ from competitive sites by being more immediate and offering less puffery," she noted. "Audiobookcafe.com plans call for developing a fairly broad-based children's area, globalizing our site and producing a print magazine for the Earful stores."

Site visitors can access audiobook reviews to get someone else's opinion of a book they are thinking of renting or buying or go to the "Listener's Lounge" for a message board area and chat room where scheduled events, such as live author chats or book discussion group meetings, take place. The "What's Brewing" area summarizes the current articles found in the Cafe and notes upcoming interviews and events. Thematic contests offer a chance to win audiobooks and other promotional items.

Baer added that the website wants "to push the envelope in terms of what the on-line experience can be." For example, Cafe has scheduled Martin Perlich, a long time classical radio personality in Los Angeles, to host the "World Proust Symposium." The site's virtual audiobook group will tackle "The Endurance" and other Shakleton-related material in conjunction with AudioFile Magazine. Minette plans to lead a sci-fi/ fantasy discussion with a star-studded cast of guest authors.

"These events will be promoted within earful stores with the goal of leading customers in directions they might not ordinarily take on their own," he said.

In a first-of-its-kind Internet offering, RioPort and Recorded Books presented a two-week audio event (Aug. 14-28) -- a dramatic chapter-by-chapter reading of Sebastian Junger's classic seafaring tale, "The Perfect Storm."

Baer, a novelist, screenwriter and audiobook producer, has an extensive multimedia background. He received bachelor and masters degrees from the University of Colorado and has been an avid audiobooks fan for more than 20 years.

Minette, a scientist and technical editor, has coordinated the design of numerous websites for a variety of engineering/environmental consulting firms. She earned B.S. and M.S. degrees from Western Michigan University, studying both petroleum and environmental geology before beginning her career as an exploration geologist.

Earful of Books, which launched an aggressive Franchising program in 1998, now has 16 stores, including locations in Texas, California, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia and Wisconsin. It has 32 new stores under contract in California, Florida, Maryland, Oregon and Washington State.