Amazon.com Calls an Audible

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Amazon.com announced last Thursday that Amazon.com that they had reached an agreement to acquire Audible Inc., the leading online provider of premium digital spoken word audio content, specializing in digital audio editions of books, newspapers and magazines, television and radio programs and original programming.

All well and good, but how does it impact affiliates. Being that it is Super Bowl Sunday, I figured I’d turn the headline into a football reference, but it does have double-meaning.

The Amazon.com acquisition could have significant implications on both the iTunes affiliate program, where Audible products are currently sold (and I buy lots of them), and Amazon MP3 Downloads.

Amazon MP3 Downloads pays 10% on sales, compared to 5% from iTunes for the same product. Well, in the past, I didn’t see audio books on MP3 (who wants it on a CD?) on Amazon.com.

What if Amazon.com becomes the exclusive seller of Audible products, and iTunes is left in the cold? This could be a game changer for affiliates selling digital audio.