The Audiblegate movement—a fight against Audible for unpaid royalties and greater transparency in reporting—recently updated its supporters via email. Author Susan May summarized the group’s legal strategy and team, which involves Jonathan Kanter, recently nominated to run the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division. May writes, “I’m also investigating mounting a class action suit and have had preliminary discussions with a law firm. We need a multi-prong attack to not only recover our stolen funds but also stop the continuation of Audible’s monopolistic abuse of authors, narrators, and readers.” Audiblegate has a dedicated website and podcast if you want to learn more and sign up for updates.
Jane Friedman has spent her entire career working in the publishing industry, with a focus on business reporting and author education. Established in 2015, her newsletter The Bottom Line provides nuanced market intelligence to thousands of authors and industry professionals; in 2023, she was named Publishing Commentator of the Year by Digital Book World.
Jane’s expertise regularly features in major media outlets such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, NPR, The Today Show, Wired, The Guardian, Fox News, and BBC. Her book, The Business of Being a Writer, Second Edition (The University of Chicago Press), is used as a classroom text by many writing and publishing degree programs. She reaches thousands through speaking engagements and workshops at diverse venues worldwide, including NYU’s Advanced Publishing Institute, Frankfurt Book Fair, and numerous MFA programs.
