Podiobooker
News from the Staff of Podiobooks.com

DRM is dagnasty evil. Oh, and it doesn’t work. We don’t use DRM protection on any file you download from Podiobooks.com, and we never will. It’s a hindrance to well meaning people, that is all. It’s worthlessness has recently been recognized by the music industry, but leading audiobook producers will continue to proceed with their heads in the sand.

But rather than hear me rant on this, how about I let Cory Doctorow do it for me? Repurposed in its entirety from BoingBoing.net:

Apple dropping DRM from music in iTunes, keeping DRM for audiobooks, video

Posted by Cory Doctorow, January 6, 2009 11:38 AM

Looks like Apple’s going to drop the DRM on the music in the iTunes store — but there’s no indication that the DRM that’s too evil to be borne for music will be likewise dropped from audiobooks and video. Right now, Apple will only sell audiobooks from Audible — and Audible will only sell audiobooks with DRM (even if the author and publisher don’t want it). I don’t get it — if DRM is so foul that it can’t be borne when it comes to music sales, why is it acceptable for other kinds of media in the iTunes store? And if Apple is so committed to getting rid of DRM, why did it renew Audible’s exclusive, DRM-only audiobook deal, after Steve Jobs said that he wanted to get the DRM out of the iTunes store? And as the single largest shareholder in Disney, you’d think The Steve could get someone there to consider selling videos without DRM?

(From the BBC) “Over the last six years songs have been $0.99 [79p]. Music companies want more flexibility. Starting today, 8 million songs will be DRM free and by the end of this quarter, all 10 million songs will be DRM free,” he told the crowd.

Apple has also revised its pricing structure, offering a two-tier system with songs available for $0.69 and $1.29. Prices will vary slightly in the UK.

At present, the firm has a one-price-fits-all strategy - currently 79p per track - with no subscription fee.

The new model will have a varied pricing structure, with what the company calls “better quality iTunes Plus” costing more.

[end of repurposed story]

Well said, Cory. This is a bone headed move. And one that will ultimately be righted. But until that time, enjoy your purchases. Just make damned sure you enjoy them on a single device.

Cory is the author of Eastern Standard Tribe here on Podiobooks.com, and piles of other stuff. He rocks.

Seth Harwood, the undisputed master of crime podcast fiction, returns to Podiobooks.com. This time it’s with a collection of short stories called CrimeWAV:

CrimeWAV.com is a new podcast series of crime short stories by some of today’s best contemporary writers in the genre. Call it detective fiction, hard boiled, action, mystery, whatever you want. This is the place for the stories you’ll love!

The first 12 episodes are in the default feed if you feel like mainlining those and getting new ones as Seth releases them. Or if you want to pace yourself (and who wouldn’t), then subscribe to a custom feed and pick how often new episodes of this free serialized audiobook are delivered to you.

 

 CrimeWAV promo [0:43m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Kirk Warrington has posted the final episodes of his fantasy-game-gone-wrong novel, DarkAge. You can now grab all 35 episodes, plus a Q and A session to wrap things up.

 

 DarkAge promo [1:05m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Keeping his the story going, Remy Gibson launches Checkwolf - Book 3 today:

The third of four books in the Checkwolf series examines the aftereffects of the drama from the end of the previous book, as well as introducing a major new threat to the organization and city they are sworn to protect, all while the team tries to maintain unity within the ranks.

The Checkwolf series is a collection of stories chronicling the activities of Checkwolf’s third phase, from its mainstream recognition to its full integration.

Book 3 demonstrates a darker and more threatening tone than the previous two releases – which is no surprise in view of the concluding moments of Book 2. The ability of the group to function as a team is put under a constant strain, reflecting the difficult times they are facing.

For now, there’s a single episode. Nab the default feed and you’ll get new episodes as Remy releases them. Or if you like more control, pick up a custom feed and you choose when a new episode is sent to you.

Not wanting to leave his listeners in a lurch, Teel McClanahan III today drops the first two episodes of Forget What You Can’t Remember:

Featuring a zombie outbreak and a strange sort of doomsday, but really focusing on how coming through those experiences into utopia and freedom effects different people, Forget What You Can’t Remember is an exploration of the human mind under pressure. It’s about relationships, memory, opportunity, and dealing with their loss - and other kinds of loss. Forget What You Can’t Remember is a spin-off novel in the same universe as Lost and Not Found (also available on Podiobooks.com) which doesn’t require you to have read that book to understand it.

Ah… zombies. If you get a custom feed, you’ll get every episode of this book on a schedule of your choosing. Or if you want to let Teel be in control, grab the default feed. Either way, we hope you enjoy this free serialized audiobook, our first of 2009!

 

 Forget What You Can't Remember promo: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Lost and Not Found draws to a close today on it’s 18th episode. But fear not! In moments I’ll be posting the next book by Teel McClanahan III, and it’s a follow on to this. Enjoy them both!

 

 Lost and Not Found promo [1:04m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Richard S. Tuttle has posted the 20th and final episode of Dark Quest, Book 2 of the Targa Trilogy. The ratings on the book have been high across the board.

I’m sure many are eagerly awaiting the third installment due out… well, I’m not sure. There was about a four month gap between books 1 & 2. So if history is any guide… summer?

Drew Beatty places his first novel on our site — Lost Gods. It’s the last one of 2008!

Kweku Anansi is just another member of the African diaspora, trying to make a place for himself in his adopted home of Toronto, Canada. He dreams of better days, of a time when he could be stop running small time cons just to make the rent. He dreams of the life he used to live, centuries ago when he was revered as a god.

A chance encounter with a fellow con man with a dark and secretive past of his own, plunges them both into the dark world of the lost gods, gods who would do anything to be worshipped again. Including destroying the world, if necessary.

How far will Anansi go to reclaim his godhood? What will he give up to have true power again? The answers can be found in “Lost Gods”, a new weekly podcast novel from author Drew Beatty.

That whole “weekly” thing is really up to you. If you want it when Drew puts out an episode once a week, then you’ll be OK with the default feed. But if you get a custom feed, you pick how often you get new episodes. Great for folks who come late to the party!

 

 Lost Gods promo [1:14m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This year’s five Founders Choice Awards for excellence in serialized audiobook production for titles here on Podiobooks.com go to:

• Joe Cottonwood for Clear Heart

• Nathan Lowell for Double Share
• Basil Sands for Faithful Warrior
• Scott Sigler for Infected
• Peter James Froning for Letter from China

Honorable mention goes to:

• Bill DeSmedt for Doctor Jack’s Soapbox Seminars

• Barry McArdle for I Sold The Moon! (A True Story)
• Derek Gilbert for Iron Dragons: Book 1 - The Saramond Quests
• Mur Lafferty for Playing for Keeps
• Christiana Ellis for Space Casey

Here’s to 2009!

About the Founders Choice Awards

The Founders Choice Awards are given annually — well, they will be given annually — to serialized audiobooks of impeccable quality. There are four criteria for choosing winners:
1. The final episode^* must have been posted within the calendar year

2. Must have passed our panel of Sounding Board Editors who decide which titles are featured on the site
3. Evo (that’s me) must have listened to all episodes
4. Evo says it wins

No, it’s neither scientific nor democratic. But that’s OK. There are lots of awards and accolades out there. I’d kind of like to have my own, if that’s OK with you. I consume lots of the serialized audiobooks on our site. But no, I don’t listen to them all. I dare say that I listen to most of them (or at least start to listen to most of them), but I will concede that there are books on the site that I haven’t listened to. Again, that’s OK. The start and end of the Founders Choice Award is me mentioning it here on the blog. And maybe someone will come up with cool graphic to put with each title that wins. But there’s no special treatment — as if I had any to give!

^{* - By “final”, I mean the last episode in the primary book content. That doesn’t count Q&A or other sorts of “extra” materials that aren’t critical to the story itself.}

Over the weekend, Tee Morris uploaded the final installment of MOREVI: The Chronicles of Rafe and Askana. This is the remastered version, adding in some guest voices and a significant portion of the tale that was missing from the abridged version.

Since this longer and better-produced version is now complete, we’ve taken down the original unabridged version — the very first podiobook available. If you’re subscribed to that book with a custom feed, you’ll still get episodes delivered. It’s just that new folks can’t subscribe.

 

 Morevi promo [1:34m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download