Building Audible
“We will build a new medium that will redefine and enhance the nature of spoken information, education, entertainment, and other modes of verbal expression we will help create ourselves.”
Don Katz
July 30, 1996
Audible Timeline
1995
Audible Inc. is founded
While jogging around Riverside Park in Manhattan with a cassette player, Don Katz has a vision for a better way to listen to books while on the go: downloadable digital files.
1997
Audible MobilePlayer is released & Audible.com comes live
Audible debuts the world’s first commercially available portable digital audio player. The first audiobook downloaded: Men are From Mars, Women are From Venus.
1999
Audible goes public on NASDAQ
2000
Audible creates its first subscription model
Audible introduces its membership model, giving customers access to the content for a flat monthly fee.
2001
Weekly audio show with Robin Williams debuts
Audible launches a downloadable weekly audio program with Robin Williams years before the word “podcast” is coined.
Audible Otis portable audio player introduced
The Audible Otis portable audio player is introduced.
2003
Audible inks deal to provide audiobooks to iTunes
2004
Audible service for Germany launches
Audible Germany launches with a catalog of 250 German audiobooks–the first step in our mission to serve customers globally.
2005
Audible service for UK and France launches
2007
Audible moves headquarters to Newark, NJ
A key element of Audible’s culture is defined by our moving our world headquarters to Newark and being an active player in the city’s turnaround.
2008
Audible joins the Amazon family
Leveraging Amazon’s reach and technological innovations has helped millions of readers discover the joy of listening.
Audible wins first Audiobook of the Year Audie Award
Audible is also awarded its first Audiobook of the Year Audie Award for The Chopin Manuscript.
2011
ACX Launches
Audible’s self-publishing marketplace launches, helping connect authors, agents, and publishers with narrators, engineers, recording studios, and producers to create new audiobooks.
2012
Whispersync for Voice & Immersion Reading are released
Audible introduces Whispersync for Voice, enabling book lovers to switch seamlessly between reading and listening without losing their place. Also, Immersion Reading, which enables people to read and listen to a book simultaneously with real-time highlighting of the text so they can be fully immersed in the experience.
2013
Audible wins Grammy Award, Audible service for Australia launches
Audible Studios wins a Grammy Award for Janis Ian’s autobiography, Society's Child.
2014
Audible service for Australia launches
2015
Audible service for Japan launches
2016
Audible service for Italy launches
2017
Audible listeners in 150+ countries, Our People Principles are introduced, Audible service for Canada launches
We mark our 20th anniversary with the introduction of our People Principles, which celebrate who we are and where we’ve been, and guide how we work together.
2018
Audible service for India launches
2019
Innovation Cathedral Opens in Newark, Paris Studio Opens
2020
Audible service for Spain launches, Audible adds all-you-can-listen streaming option for customers
Audible establishes Global Center for Urban Development, From April 2020 to June 2021, Audible offers hundreds of titles free globally through Audible Stories
2021
NWK delivers 1 million meals
Newark Working Kitchens, a COVID-19 response that activates Newark’s restaurants to deliver nutritious meals to low-income seniors and families, crossed the 1 million-meal mark.
