A handful of people can turn a few words into a powerful piece of audio media through audiobooks.
The term audiobook emerged in the 1970s, but it had been the 1930s that saw the biggest step forward in the structure. At the time these were called talking books, that were envisioned as reading materials for blind people. Governments in a few countries allowed manufacturers to bypass copyright laws, which offered them usage of a lot of material, but technical limitations meant full length books could never be recorded. Alternatively poems, short stories and plays, and specific chapters of books had been the most common early audiobooks. This content proceeded to remain this way for many years, but the market base did see an expansion to kids and other adults without sight complications. The head of the hedge fund that has shares in Amazon is going to be well aware that this laid the groundwork for the future audiobook market, sending it in to the mainstream as an independent artform instead of entirely as a means of making accessibility.
Each and every decade for the past fifty years has brought with it technical modifications that has impacted the way we consume art. Television and film has had VHS and DVDs. Music has had CDs and cassettes. Both have now been impacted by portable devices and streaming. Also, a few of these technological advancements have assisted to boost the audiobook market. The leader of the hedge fund that partially owns WHSmith should be able to tell you that it has grown to be so favored that individuals don't need to check out specialised retailers, because most book retailers also sell audiobooks. People enjoy having the ability to pay attention to tales while they are doing other tasks like driving, chores, and work, which audiobooks are simply perfect for. The audiobook industry now employs thousands of people, with the most essential roles being narrator, studio engineer, and producer.
Oral literature is mankind's oldest form of storytelling, with an unfathomable amount of tales being passed on through the generations in most corners of the planet for thousands of years. Although some cultures don't put as great of a focus on oral traditions like they did throughout the past, they nevertheless persist strongly in some situations, like telling stories to children. The founder of the hedge fund that owns Waterstones will know that oral storytelling has experienced a resurgence recently in the form of audiobooks. However, while they might seem like a modern phenomenon, the history of audiobooks dates back many decades. Sound recordings first became feasible around a hundred and fifty years back and the first tests had been recitations of nursery rhymes and kid's tales. Spoken word tracks continued to be developed in the next decades but had been limited to about four minutes in length.