Mumbai: Flipkart and audio streaming service Pocket FM has announced their collaboration to enable audiobooks at scale. The collaboration would help Flipkart enter the audiobooks category with exclusive and licensed audiobooks through Pocket FM, making it accessible to its customer base of over 400 million. This further offers an opportunity for Pocket FM to widen its audience outreach and bring forward global and Indian bestsellers and authors at an affordable price.
India is presently ranked third in the world, with an estimated 25 million audiobook listeners. The opportunity for audiobooks, stimulated by the ability of audio storytelling and availability in Indian languages, is expected to double in the next couple of years. With its official launch of the audiobook platform in March this year, Pocket FM has already garnered the highest traction in India, selling over 120,000 audiobooks every month.
Commenting on Flipkart’s partnership with Pocket FM, Kanchan Mishra, Business Head- FMCG, Home and General Merchandise, Flipkart said, “Audiobooks have gained great prominence during the pandemic and this collaboration with Pocket FM falls in line with our aim to catering to consumers’ evolving needs. This will help authors publish their work on our platform with the aid of audiobooks and give them the opportunity to reach out to our customer base. Flipkart will assist the author in receiving the appropriate exposure; it is more than just a platform for distribution. We believe this collaboration will hold immense strategic importance for the audiobook market in India as we continue to address our users’ appetite for regional content.”
Ashu Behl, SVP – Content, Pocket FM said, “We have witnessed an exponential growth curve for audiobook consumption since we officially launched the segment in March this year. In about a quarter, we lead the audiobook category on the back of a thoughtfully crafted catalogue of books in native languages. Given the strong penetration of Flipkart in the country across diverse consumption categories, this partnership will only strengthen our efforts and help our publishers and authors community reach a wider audience, generating significant revenue from audiobooks.”
With this collaboration, Pocket FM will bring its audiobook library to Flipkart book stores that include bestsellers like Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki, The Art of Public Speaking by Dale Carnegie, Do Epic Shit by Ankur Warikoo, The Rudest Book Ever by Shwetabh Gangwar and many more.
