Podiobooks.com and PodShow Agree to Syndication of Scott Sigler’s Novel “Ancestor”
Successful Author Updating and Re-Releasing the Original Work That Kicked Off the Podcast Audio Book Craze; PodShow Extending Distribution to Podiobooks.com’s Audience
SAN FRANCISCO, CA — (MARKET WIRE) — August 14, 2006 — Podiobooks.com has reached an agreement with PodShow, Inc., the world’s leading brand in podcasting, to syndicate the popular podcast novel “Ancestor,” by Scott Sigler. This agreement makes the original work available in digital serialized format once again, enabling audiences new to podcasting, but aware of Scott’s follow-on books and hard copy successes, to experience the original episodic work as it was first delivered in 2005.
“Ancestor,” a Sci-Fi-Horror novel depicting a human organ bioengineering experiment gone horribly awry, ran as a weekly podcast novel from September 2005 to January 2006, stimulating months of mainstream media stories and political debate about the ethics and potential mishaps of replacement-organ engineering in the U.S. that culminated in President Bush’s now famous “man-beast” description written into the 2006 State of the Union Address. During its initial run, “Ancestor” grew by word-of-mouth until Adam Curry, PodShow co founder and President, started discussing “Ancestor” episodes on his daily show, “The Daily Source Code,” creating the tipping point in adoption that created tens-of-thousands of loyal fans listening to each episode. Scott then immediately started producing the follow-up hit novel “Infection,” which is currently distributed exclusively through PodShow.
When the initial run of “Ancestor” completed, new readers frequently downloaded entire books or experienced the book out of order because friends had first emailed much talked-about chapters out of sequence. Demand for “Ancestor” hard copies and audio files continues to grow in 2006 as the word-of-mouth buzz for “Infection” causes fans to actively seek out other works from Sigler.
“I wanted to give fans that same feeling of episode-anticipation that made ‘EarthCore’ and the first release of ‘Ancestor’ so much fun and so successful in terms of word-of-mouth,” said Scott Sigler, creator of “Earthcore,” “Ancestor” and “Infection.” “I’m really happy that PodShow and Podiobooks.com agree that ‘Ancestor’ needs to be experienced from the beginning — in weekly episodes — Podiobooks.com does just that, and puts ‘Ancestor’ in front of thousands of potential listeners that may have missed the story’s debut.”
The Podiobooks.com (www.podiobooks.com) system allows the audience to experience free audiobooks, and receive those books as podcasts automatically in 30- to 45-minute episodes. Each podcast feed is unique to each audience member, and provides complete control over delivery frequency. Podiobooks.com receives revenue from audience donations to Podiobooks.com. Podiobooks.com is also the home of “EarthCore,” Scott Sigler’s first podcast novel and the world’s first “podcast only” novel. After completion of the initial “EarthCore” podcast, which ran from March 2005 to September 2005, Podiobooks.com picked up the title as part of it’s offering of over 50 free podcast novels. The success of “EarthCore” led to the agreement with PodShow for “Ancestor.”
“‘EarthCore’ has been a tremendous success for Podiobooks.com,” said Evo Terra, cofounder of Podiobooks.com. “It is the all-time most popular podcast novel we’ve had, with more subscribers than any other title. Our audiences are really looking forward to the re-release of ‘Ancestor.’”
“Sigler’s books are phenomenal in two ways,” said Ron Bloom, Co Founder and CEO, PodShow, Inc. “First, their influence and impact on podcasting as an example of a passionate artist successfully breaking the rules of mass media distribution; second, as an incredibly compelling series of nail-biting episodes, demonstrating the power of serialized drama in the new era of independent, digital distribution.” “Ancestor” re-launches this month on Podiobooks.com
About PodShow, Inc.
The PodShow Podcast Network is the world’s premier network in podcasting, assembling the leading communities in podcasting, as well as a host of the most popular personalities and shows. PodShow offers professional production and directory services to major media companies and traditional businesses. PodShowPDN is the first high-performance content delivery network meeting the specific needs of podcasting, delivering a comprehensive creation, production, delivery and monetization solution for independent podcasters and mainstream media companies. PodShow+ makes independently produced media more accessible to an audience of millions, provides resources for podcast producers, and enables marketers to take part in the podcast explosion. Built on the PodShow+ platform and available through AOL AIM Pro, PodShowPRO enables professionals to extend the full power of podcasting to their companies, customers and key constituents. In every way, the company has greatly simplified the production experience for artists and listeners around the world. PodShow is a privately-held company, backed by leading venture capital firms Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Sequoia Capital and Sherpalo Ventures. For more on PodShow, visit: www.podshow.com, and for all queries visit: www.podshow.com/contactus.html.
About Podiobooks.com
Podiobooks.com helps authors and publishers make their books available to the world in serialized audio form. In nine months they grew their offerings from five books to over 60 full length novels, anthologies, non-fiction titles and specialty works. Often blending the lines between audio books and radio dramas, Podiobooks.com encourages authors to narrate their own books and offer creative inclusion of music and sound effects to enhance the recording. Delivered by the powerful EachCaster™ software, listeners receive episodes or chapters of any book on a schedule of their choosing and have the option to listen on their computer, transfer the DRM-free audio files to their MP3 player of choice, or burn the episode to CD or other media — all free of charge. Listeners, authors and publishers are encouraged to visit http://podiobooks.com for additional information.
* PodShow, PodShowPDN, PodShow+ are trademarks of PodShow, Inc.
Podiobooks.com Contact:
Evo Terra
evo@podiobooks.com
928-634-6158
