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April 8, 2005

Audio Samples For Rent!

Just wanted to give a note to all of you that the Brian Tracy Author Page is up and running and looks to be a great addition to our other author pages. Tracy is best suited for those that are interested in pursuing or enhancing their business career. From what I've looked over today, he has many titles that zero in particularly on sales and marketing.

In other news, I wanted to give you all some more links to sites that feature audio samples. This time I'm focusing on audio membership sites, figuring they have to feature some kind of sample right? Well.....

Audioqueue is first up. With categories like "Appearance" and "Feelings" I felt like their page layout was a little too... inaccessible maybe? I went on, hoping for detailed product descriptions repleat with 20 minute audio samples for you all to hear. I was again, as per usual in this hard, hard life, disapointed. No samples, just a picture (sometimes even that isn't available) and a brief description followed by a plea to sign up for their 20 buck a month club. I might check the competition out before I go with you guys.

Audio-To-Go features no samples and their product pages are so brief they just fit them all on one big page insteand of breaking them up individually. I think I like them, but I guess their presentation doesn't it really do it for me either. Seems to me, these audio book clubs are forming a pattern of no audio samples. How am I supposed to know what I'm getting from a picture? What if I'm one of those guys that's just casaully browsing. What if I'm not an avid reader and I don't know who an author is? This stuff seems catered to people in the know and I feel like a loser.

Audiobookclub, what my good friend and co-worker david has called the BMG of audiobooks, has alot of samples! I'm listening to this one from James Patterson's "3rd Degree". I have absolutely no idea what this book is about other than that it seems to be some kind of detective story involving avid runners. Hah. The audio sample is ok. For some reason I want GREAT quality audio samples because I feel I deserve nothing less when I get something for nothing.

Simplyaudiobooks was by far my favorite of the audio book rental sites. This is just the tops as far as presentation and product description. They basically have all your basic top sellers but alas, they don't have any audio samples. My search was in vain, but I left the place with a smile so I guess the world isn't so bad after all.

Ok, so this sort of turned into an amateur hour referendum on the state of audio book rental subscription sites. I didn't mean for that to happen and I think its giving me an idea for a new article. As it stands, i found no audio samples on any of these sites but I hope the information is useful nonetheless. At least it was for me. I think I'll go now. Final thoughts? Uh, the grapes I'm currently eating in front of the computer are real sour. Yeah! Have a good day wherever you are.