Audible.com Announces Availability of Leading Titles From Each of the "Big Seven" Audiobook Publishers.

WAYNE, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 14, 1998--

Simon & Schuster, Random House Audio and its Imprint Bantam

Doubleday Dell Audio, Harper Audio/Caedmon, Time Warner

AudioBooks, Penguin Audiobooks, and Dove Audio Participating in

Unique Online Audio Delivery Service

Audible.com, in a move that further establishes the company as the leader in secure delivery of copyright-protected audio over the Internet, announces today that it offers a deep selection of both frontlist and backlist audiobook titles from seven of the industry's leading audiobook publishers. With over 15,000 hours of audio, more than 5,000 individual titles and an additional 9,000 hours of secured audio rights, Audible.com is the leading source of electronically-delivered premium audio on the Internet, bypassing all other online destinations with its top-tier branded audio services.

Audible.com also offers audiobook titles from the top three unabridged audiobook publishers--Books on Tape, Recorded Books, and Blackstone Audiobooks--as well as many unabridged titles from other top-quality audiobook publishers. A complete list of publishers is available at Audible.com. The Audible.com Web site features a powerful collection of audiobooks from proven best selling authors, including Stephen King, John Grisham, Sarah Ban Breathnach, Robert Ludlum, Jon Krakauer, Scott Adams, Sue Grafton, Sidney Sheldon, Nicholas Sparks, James Redfield, Terry McMillan, and James Patterson. In addition, backlist titles such as Stephen Hawking's A Brief History of Time and Frank McCourt's Angela's Ashes regularly appear on Audible.com's own list of bestselling titles, along with deeper backlist titles like Dante's The Inferno read by John Cleese and Winston Churchill's collection of speeches, Churchill in His Own Voice.

Audible.com's proprietary security format prohibits the pass-along of any audio that is downloaded to listeners' PCs, thereby making the Audible MobileAudio(tm) System the preferred method for distributing premium audio over the Internet from over 90 leading publishers and other creators of superior audio.

Judith McGuinn, vice president/director of Time Warner AudioBooks, comments, "Audible offers us a valuable distribution opportunity to customers on-line because it aggressively and specifically markets audiobooks. Other distribution channels, although audio continues to grow in their mixes, primarily market books. Increased visibility for audiobooks as a leisure and information medium is essential to the growth of the industry."

"Audible.com has established itself as a provider of secure audiobooks over the Internet," states Jan Nathan, executive director of the Audiobook Publishers' Association. "Its position is evidenced by the licensing agreements with the top audiobook producers who have ventured into the newest and most powerful of all avenues of distribution, the Internet."

"We've worked hard to develop a secure system and mobile playback platform, and we're pleased that the publishers are trusting us with their audio assets," noted Don Katz, founder of Audible. "In contrast to traditional bookstores, Audible.com titles are never out of stock, there are no returns to publishers from retail endpoints and backlist titles have perpetual market exposure."

Audible.com has expanded its one-stop shopping site in offer more than audiobooks, to include audio newspapers such as The Wall Street Journal on Audible, audio magazines such as The Economist, Harvard Business Review and Harvard Management Update, and many other audio categories are available at Audible.com. With over 15,000 hours of audio newspapers, audio magazines, audiobooks, on-demand radio (including Marketplace, Nightly Business Report, Fresh Air, and Car Talk), speeches, lectures, and language learning, Audible.com offers the broadest range of premium audio available from one source.

About Audible Inc.

Founded in 1995, Audible, based in Wayne, NJ, aims to combine the growing popularity of spoken audio programming with the rapid development of commercial viability of the Internet. The company is focused on audio content sourcing, development, packaging, delivery and playback, as well as continued development of the platform, tools, services, and varied licensing opportunities afforded by the Audible MobileAudio(tm) System. The company services Internet-savvy business professionals whose primary needs are to stay informed of critical business and entertainment-based audio, which allows them to take better advantage of their commute and travel time. Audible provides unique content services that deliver premium information and entertainment when and where their customers need it.

Audible.com's investors include AT&T Ventures, Compaq Computer Corporation, Hambrecht & Quist LLC, The Intel Corporation, Ironwood Capital, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Patricof & Co., and TTC Ventures (The Thompson Corporation).