AUDIBLE and GREED

When morality runs up against profit, 
it is seldom that profits loses.



I wanted to give one of my audio books as a gift to a lab tech at a local hospital.
I have given not only my own audio books but those of authors I think friends would like 
from Craig Johnson to Patricia Briggs
 to John Steinbeck {Travels With Charley}.
  (Narrated wonderfully by the actor Gary Sinse)
Imagine my surprise when I discovered Audible would no longer let me 
give a single audiobook as a gift!

The company line is that it's to focus on the more popular gift memberships!
More popular to whom?
Audible obviously.
No customer believes the gift subscriptions are more popular. 


I don't want to spend $45 to send someone a 3 month subscription. 
I want to use a credit I have or spend $20 sending them a single book. 
I now have to spend $45 and send a “gift” 
which requires the recipient to sign up for a membership that they didn’t ask for 
when they only may want to listen to the one book I want to send them? 
Nothing says "You are my friend" like sticking her or him with a bill for a 9 month book subscription! 
This hurts the Indie Author who promotes by buying his audio book and gifting it to friends.

But it also hurts the Indie narrators, like the excellent Robert Rossmann, 
who promote their work by doing the same thing.


The only one who benefits from this is Audible (owned by Amazon) --
Another example of why monopolies are bad for the consumer.

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THIS?
ARE YOU AFFECTED BY THIS?