Editing Audiobook (section)

==Formats==
{{see also|Timeline of audio formats}}
[[File:AudiobookLibrary2.jpg|thumb|An audiobook collection in a library. A mix of cassette tape and CD-ROM formats.]]
Audiobooks are distributed on any audio format available, but primarily these are records, cassette tapes, CDs, [[MP3 CD]]s, downloadable digital formats (e.g., [[MP3]] (.mp3), [[Windows Media Audio]] (.wma), [[Advanced Audio Coding]] (.aac)), and solid state preloaded digital devices in which the audio content is preloaded and sold together with a hardware device.

In 1955, a German inventor introduced the ''Sound Book'' cassette system based on the [[:de:Tefifon|Tefifon format]] where instead of a magnetic tape the sound was recorded on a continuous loop of grooved vinylite ribbon similar to the old [[8-track tape]]. Even though the original Tefifon upon which it was based ran at 19 CPS and could hold a maximum of 4 hours, one Sound Book could hold eight hours of recordings as it ran at half the speed or 9.5 CPS. However, just like the Tefifon, the format never became widespread in use.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=xdwDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA141 "Grooved Tape Recording Plays For Eight Hours."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150407073254/http://books.google.com/books?id=xdwDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA141 |date=7 April 2015 }} ''Popular Mechanics'', July 1955, p. 141.</ref>

A small number of books are [[books on the radio|recorded for radio broadcast]], usually in abridged form and sometimes serialized. Audiobooks may come as fully dramatized versions of the printed book, sometimes calling upon a complete cast, music, and sound effects. Effectively [[audio drama]]s, these audiobooks are known as full-cast audiobooks. BBC radio stations [[BBC Radio 3|Radio 3]], [[BBC Radio 4|Radio 4]], and [[Radio 4 Extra]] have broadcast such productions as the [[William Gibson]] novel ''[[Neuromancer]]''.<ref>{{cite web|title=William Gibson's Seminal Cyberpunk Novel, Neuromancer, Dramatized for Radio (2002)|url=http://www.openculture.com/2015/07/william-gibsons-seminal-cyperpunk-novel-neuromancer-dramatized-for-radio-2002.html|website=Open Culture|access-date=6 February 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180206131827/http://www.openculture.com/2015/07/william-gibsons-seminal-cyperpunk-novel-neuromancer-dramatized-for-radio-2002.html|archive-date=6 February 2018}}</ref>

An ''audio first production'' is a spoken word audio work that is an original production but not based on a book. Examples include [[Joe Hill (writer)|Joe Hill]], the son of [[Stephen King]], who released a Vinyl First audiobook called ''Dark Carousel'' in 2018. It came in a 2-LP vinyl set, or as a downloadable MP3, but with no published text.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://goodereader.com/blog/audiobooks/joe-hill-is-creating-a-vinyl-first-audiobook |title=Joe Hill is creating a Vinyl First Audiobook |work=Good E-Reader |author=Michael Kozlowski |date=20 February 2018 |access-date=20 February 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180221023615/https://goodereader.com/blog/audiobooks/joe-hill-is-creating-a-vinyl-first-audiobook |archive-date=21 February 2018 }}</ref> Another example includes ''Spin, The Audiobook Musical'' (2018), a musical rendition of [[Rumpelstiltskin]] narrated by [[Jim Dale]], and featuring a cast of Broadway musical stars.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://goodereader.com/blog/audiobooks/global-audiobook-trends-and-statistics-for-2018 |title=Global Audiobook Trends and Statistics for 2018 |work=Good E-Reader |author=Michael Kozlowski |date=17 December 2018 |access-date=20 February 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180221101030/https://goodereader.com/blog/audiobooks/global-audiobook-trends-and-statistics-for-2018 |archive-date=21 February 2018 }}</ref>