AudioGO

AudioGO (formerly BBC Audiobooks) was a publisher of audiobooks and a range of spoken word and large-print titles.[2] It was majority owned by AudioGO Ltd, and minority owned by BBC 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
Parent companyAudioGO Ltd, BBC Worldwide
Statusdefunct (2014)
Defunct2013 
SuccessorBlackstone Audio, Audible, Random House
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Headquarters locationBath
Key peopleMichael Kuhn
Publication typesaudiobooks, books
ImprintsAudioGO, BBC Audio, BBC Radio Collection
Revenue£25.9m p.a. (as at 2010)[1]
No. of employees140 (as at 2010)[1]
Official websiteOfficial website (defunct)

AudioGO published unabridged audio novels, and the BBC Radio Collection which incorporated dramatisations and non-fiction output derived from BBC Radio programmes. Novels were published under the imprint AudioGO, and BBC-sourced content under the BBC Audio imprint, the latter making up about 20% of new titles as at 2010.[1]

Catalogue

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 to Audible.com.

The BBC titles, formerly known as the BBC Radio Collection, and considered by industry experts to be the most valuable asset, were licensed to Random House Audio.[3] It included popular radio dramatisations such as Doctor Who, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, as well as radio comedy including I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue and Just a Minute.

Commercial History

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 by Helen Nicoll, the author of the Meg and Mog books, in 1983.[5] Chivers Audio Books was one of the early commercial audiobook companies and among the first to employ professional actors for narration.[6]

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 former Polygram senior executive Michael Kuhn and six partners, for a reported £10m to £15m.[1] In 2011, AudioGO acquired US children's audiobook firm Audio Bookshelf.[7]

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 Audio which had been acquired in January 2013,[8] was sold back to its founders, the Black family, with other AudioGO US operations at the same time.[9]

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.[10] Accountancy firm BDO were appointed as administrator.

In November 2013 it was announced that 57 employees had been made redundant,[11] and that the licensing rights to 5,000 non-BBC titles would be transferred to Amazon.com-owned Audible pending approval from affected authors and publishers.[12] In December 2013, Random House Audio reached 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
  1. "BBC Audiobooks sold". The Guardian. 14 July 2010. Retrieved 13 July 2011.
  2. "Welcome to AudioGO". AudioGO. Archived from the original on 12 July 2011. Retrieved 13 July 2011.
  3. "AudioGO's BBC titles signed by Random House". The Bookseller. 12 December 2013. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  4. Milliot, Jim (28 August 2009). "BBC Audiobooks for Sale". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
  5. Ringshaw, Grant; Poole, Oliver (10 December 2000). "BBC buys big audio books group". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
  6. "A Brief History of Audio Books". Booksalley.com. 18 September 2007. Archived from the original on 9 July 2012. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
  7. "AudioGO Merges with Audio Bookshelf". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
  8. "AudioGO Acquires Blackstone Audio". Publishers Weekly. 4 January 2013. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
  9. "AudioGO suspends business operations". The Bookseller. 22 October 2013. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
  10. "AudioGO files for administration". The Bookseller. 25 October 2013. Retrieved 13 December 2013.
  11. "Fifty-seven redundancies made at AudioGO". The Bookseller. 1 November 2013. Retrieved 13 December 2013.
  12. "Audible buys rights to 5,000 AudioGO titles". The Bookseller. 25 November 2013. Retrieved 13 December 2013.
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