The download capabilities of Audible helped Random House get its audio version of Edwin Black's IBM and the Holocaust (see News, Feb. 12) to listeners at the same time as the print version, even though the cassette and CD editions weren't ready yet.

The Random House audiobook debuted exclusively on Audible.com on February 12, the same day as the hardcover's release but eight days before the cassette and CD versions hit stores. "It was a timing issue," explained Robert Allen, publisher for Random House Audiobook and BDD Audio. "When we learned about [the book], it was a pretty short window, just before Christmas. We had producers working on it over the holidays, but even with that, it's a longer process to get the hard copy finished. They did a great job—we ended up only a week behind the book. But we wanted to have an audio option that would be there when all the media was hitting. The first big news pieces were right out of the gate when the book went on sale. So we thought it would be great to do something with Audible."

IBM and the Holocaust "immediately became one of our fastest sellers ever," said Beth Anderson, v-p and publisher for Audible. "We sold a couple hundred in just the first 48 hours."

The hard-copy audio is also doing well. "We did obviously miss some sales that first week, but I think we have picked up some since then," Allen told PW. "In the last couple of weeks, the numbers seem like they are building a little bit. We're pretty much at the normal point in relation to book sales." (Generally, audiobooks sell about 10% of the units of the hardcover.)

Allen praised Audible's marketing campaign. "The effort they've put in has increased visibility for both the audiobook and the audio download," he said. "They sent an e-mail clip of the audio to their mailing list and got a great response. Then they did a full-page ad in the Times, not just for this book, but this was one of books listed, so we've obviously been able to tag onto that."

This title is the first time Audible has had an exclusive window for an audiobook prior to release of the hard copy. Previously, Audible partnered with Random House to create Random House Audible, a series of audio originals available only on Audible, with no cassette or CD counterpart. Audible also has other original audio material, including a series of Robin Williams programs created specifically for Audible.