AudioGO
| Parent company | AudioGO Ltd,BBC Worldwide |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2010 |
| Defunct | 2014 |
| Successor | Blackstone Audio,Audible,Random House |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Headquarters location | Bath |
| Key people | Michael Kuhn |
| Publication types | audiobooks,books |
| Imprints | AudioGO, BBC Audio, BBC Radio Collection |
| Revenue | £25.9m p.a. (as at 2010)[1] |
| No.of employees | 140 (as at 2010)[1] |
| Official website | Official website(defunct) |
AudioGO(formerlyBBC Audiobooks) was a British publisher of audiobooks and a range of spoken word and large-print titles.[2]It was majority owned by AudioGO Ltd, and minority owned byBBC Worldwide.[1]It was formed in 2010, when AudioGO purchased a majority share in BBC Audiobooks,[1]and traded until it went into administration in 2013.
AudioGO published unabridged audio novels, and theBBC Radio Collectionwhich incorporated dramatisations and non-fiction output derived from BBC Radio programmes. Novels were published under the imprintAudioGO,and BBC-sourced content under theBBC Audioimprint, the latter making up about 20% of new titles as at 2010.[1]
Catalogue
[edit]AudioGO had about 8,500 titles in its catalogue at the time it went into administration in 2013.[3]Thereupon AudioGO's catalogue of non-BBC titles was sold toAudible.com.
The BBC titles, formerly known as the BBC Radio Collection, and considered by industry experts to be the most valuable asset, were licensed toRandom House Audio.[3]These included popular radio dramatisations such asDoctor Who,The HobbitandThe Lord of the Rings,as well as radio comedy includingI'm Sorry I Haven't a ClueandJust a Minute.
Commercial History
[edit]Owned by BBC Worldwide, BBC Audiobooks was created by the amalgamation of BBC Radio Collection, Cover to Cover and Chivers Audio Books (Chivers Press) in 2001.[4]BBC Audiobooks had bought Cover to Cover in 2000, a company which specialised in unabridged audio recordings and had been started byHelen Nicoll,the author of theMeg and Mogbooks, in 1983.[5]Chivers Audio Books was one of the early commercial audiobook companies and among the first to employ professional actors for narration and included an American arm, Chivers Sound Library.[6][7]
In 2007, BBC Audiobooks America acquired Audio Partners, publisher of theArkangel Shakespeare.[8]
In July 2010, BBC Worldwide, at that time led by CEO John Smith, sold an 85% stake in BBC Audiobooks to AudioGO Ltd, a company set up by formerPolygramsenior executiveMichael Kuhnand six partners, for a reported £10m to £15m.[1]In 2011, AudioGO acquired US children's audiobook firm Audio Bookshelf.[9]
In October 2013 AudioGO Ltd announced that it was suspending operations, due to "significant financial challenges", and was seeking fresh investment or a sale of the business. The US arm,Blackstone Audiowhich had been acquired in January 2013,[10]was sold back to its founders, the Black family, with other AudioGO US operations at the same time.[11]
At the end of October 2013, AudioGO Ltd filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators as it was unable to find a buyer or investor.[12]Accountancy firmBDOwere appointed as administrator.
In November 2013 it was announced that 57 employees had beenmade redundant,[13]and that the licensing rights to 5,000 non-BBC titles would be transferred toAmazon.com-ownedAudiblepending approval from affected authors and publishers.[14]In December 2013,Random House Audioreached an agreement with BBC Worldwide to license the rights to the prestigious 3,500 BBC audio catalogue, saying that it would take "sole responsibility for sales, stock management and distribution of BBC-branded physical CDs in the UK and the rest of the world excluding North America, Australia and New Zealand," and "take global responsibility for download sales with leading digital retailers, including Audible".[3]
The AudioGo website reported it would close on 1 February 2014. However, sales ceased on the website months before then.
References
[edit]- ^abcdef"BBC Audiobooks sold".The Guardian.14 July 2010.Retrieved13 July2011.
- ^"Welcome to AudioGO".AudioGO. Archived fromthe originalon 12 July 2011.Retrieved13 July2011.
- ^abc"AudioGO's BBC titles signed by Random House".The Bookseller. 12 December 2013.Retrieved7 January2014.
- ^Milliot, Jim (28 August 2009)."BBC Audiobooks for Sale".Publishers Weekly.Retrieved1 February2019.
- ^Ringshaw, Grant; Poole, Oliver (10 December 2000)."BBC buys big audio books group".The Daily Telegraph.Retrieved1 February2019.
- ^"A Brief History of Audio Books".Booksalley.com. 18 September 2007. Archived fromthe originalon 9 July 2012.Retrieved2 August2012.
- ^"CHIVERS AUDIO / BBC AUDIOBOOKS AMERICA / AUDIO GO – SFFaudio".20 March 2020.
- ^"Shelf Awareness for Thursday, April 19, 2007".
- ^"AudioGO Merges with Audio Bookshelf".PublishersWeekly.com.Retrieved2 April2019.
- ^"AudioGO Acquires Blackstone Audio".Publishers Weekly.4 January 2013.Retrieved22 October2013.
- ^"AudioGO suspends business operations".The Bookseller. 22 October 2013.Retrieved22 October2013.
- ^"AudioGO files for administration".The Bookseller. 25 October 2013.Retrieved13 December2013.
- ^"Fifty-seven redundancies made at AudioGO".The Bookseller. 1 November 2013.Retrieved13 December2013.
- ^"Audible buys rights to 5,000 AudioGO titles".The Bookseller. 25 November 2013.Retrieved13 December2013.
External links
[edit]- "AudioGo".Archived fromthe originalon 15 January 2012.Retrieved25 January2013.
