Aspiro Music has signed an agreement with Norwegian book publisher Cappelen Damm for the development and launch of a new streaming service for audiobooks. The service is scheduled for release in the Norwegian market in the autumn.
The service will enable users to listen to a selection of Cappelen Damm books on PC, Mac and mobile. Aspiro will develop a customized streaming service that allows the reader to bring their books with them and to listen wherever they are.
Audiobooks on mobile allows users to listen to books on the go. Using bookmarks, they can easily start listening on the computer at home, and continue later on the mobile, where they left off. Streaming technology also makes it unnecessary to download files or to do any work to keep the library in order. 
“We are delighted to have signed an exclusive agreement with Cappelen Damm in Norway,” says Aspiro CEO, Gunnar Sellæ. “Audiobooks are a very interesting and growing market and therefore we will also offer our streaming service throughout Europe to publishers, audiobook clubs and other retailers, who want to distribute their books via online streaming.”
According to statistics from the Norwegian Publishers Association, the estimated Norwegian market for audiobooks in 2008 was 261m kroner (£28.5m). The Audio Publishers Association estimates that the worldwide market for audiobooks in 2008 was around $1 billion (£660m).
