Local audiobook start-up takes on industry giants

Physicist Albert-László Barabási once wrote that “time is our most valuable non-renewable resource.”

Brent Rouble discovered this to be particularly true when he was enrolled in an online MBA degree while working as a Senior Geologist at a remote mining camp in Northern Ontario.

He noted that the program required a lot of reading week-after-week in order to be prepared for class discussions.

“I am a slow reader,” laughs Rouble, who notes that he found it challenging to keep up while working full-time. 

“So, I decided to look for the course textbook on audio.”

After struggling to find the exact textbook in audio form, he came across an audiobook on the same subject as the course, written by the author of the textbook he was searching for.

“I purchased that audiobook, and listened to it about five times while travelling to and from work, while walking my dog, and while exercising. I learned more from that fifteen-dollar audiobook than I did from the entire three thousand dollar MBA course,” he says, noting he received a 98 per cent grade on the course.”

Rouble recognized the convenience, affordability and learning potential of audiobooks and audio-learning.

He dropped out of the MBA course and diverted the funds he would have spent to start ListenerU, a pioneering audiobook and audio-learning mobile app-based company based in Sault Ste. Marie.

“I originally created it in hopes of helping busy professionals, multi-taskers, and people who might be slow readers.”

As a start-up company, Rouble understood the heavy competition in the audiobook field, led by companies like Audible, which is owned by Amazon.

“The audiobook market is very competitive and it is largely dominated by the worlds largest companies and other large publishing companies,” he says.

“But the Canadian market and Canadian authors are underserved and under-represented by those companies, especially Northern Ontario.”

Compared to the audiobook market, Rouble noted that e-learning market is even bigger.

“Combining the two to create a new market, audio-learning, seemed like a very logical step to me.”

For Rouble, ListenerU sets itself apart from the competition because it does “all things audiobook and all things audio-learning.”

The company offers certificate courses for people like himself, who as a geologist, needed to attain a certain amount of learning per year to keep his professional status. 

“As a certified educational institution in Canada, ListenerU provides audio-based certificate courses,” says Rouble. 

“I realized this can benefit all audio-learners, whether they are in school, interested in continuous education, need professional development, are multitaskers, or just have curious minds. Its an affordable and convenient way to learn high quality content.”

Rouble has plans to approach northern educational institutions like Sault College and Algoma University, to propose the creation of unique audio-based courses for their most popular programs.

“It can be a great way for their alumni to stay up-to-date with their industry, program, and school through this continuing education audio-learning … It can also be a great way for them to attract new students by offering an audio-course first to make sure it is a good fit for them.”

For authors who publish their text through ListenerU, Rouble says his company provides better royalties to its exclusive authors than any other audiobook distributor.

“We can include those audiobooks in our courses, which will increase sales, popularity, and relevance of the book, benefitting both authors and publishers,” he says.

He notes that recording and publishing an audiobook can often expensive and have low return for authors.

“Times are changing and audiobooks are becoming more popular, with year-over-year double digit growth in the industry over the past eleven years, as more people are listening. Having an audiobook that coincides with the release of the print book will soon be a requirement for any author who wants to make a decent name for themselves … I believe authors and publishers deserve more support and more rewards for creating their content.”

Rouble notes that Listener U provides a cost effective method for authors to professionally record their books.

“Many audiobooks are literally recorded in authors closets, or they cost a fortune to make,” he says, noting that ListenerU will be working with the recording studio at The Loft as part of the Algoma Conservatory of Music to record the audiobooks.

“Working with The Loft, the Algoma Conservatory of Music, Greig Nori, and his intern Brandon Ruch has been a dream come true. Greig is a pro at what he does with audio, and I was lucky enough to be the publisher to his first recorded audiobooks. Brandon Ruch, his intern, was also a big help and is an up-and-coming audio industry professional who I am hoping to work with a lot more in the future. So, when we can provide more affordable, world class audio recording in a top-of-the-line recording studio, by a literal rock star, we are changing the game.”

ListenerU has just published its inaugural audiobook, "How to Lead a Thriving School," written by local educator, Marg Dodds.

“Entering the audiobook publishing space with Marg’s book is a big deal for us. We are opening up audiobook creation opportunities for northern Ontario, Canada, and the world ... Marg’s expertise in the education system is second to none, and she was lovely and understanding to work with as we worked out the kinks for our first published audiobook.”

Dodds’ book is ListenerU’s first exclusive audiobook, only sold on ListenerU, joining a roster of almost 20,000 other non-exclusive audiobooks on the app.

“We are hoping to grow both our exclusive and non-exclusive audiobook numbers significantly,” he says.

Rouble sees ListenerU as a unique way to add to the arts and culture in Sault Ste. Marie and area. 

“At the end of the day, this is what it’s all about,” he says.

“We have such amazing people in the Sault, northern Ontario, Canada, and the world, I just want to help them expand their reach, help other people learn from their work, and help these creators earn a fair compensation. Since ListenerU is a small, bootstrapped startup that owns the distribution platform and the publishing company, we can do whatever we want. We are not held back by the status-quo. We are able to provide fair royalties. We are able to produce more content. We are able to get creative with our production and marketing. We are able to help local creatives grow and develop their art in a way that is less cookie-cutter.”

For more information on ListenerU, subscriptions or how to download app and start listening, visit ListenerU.com.

ListenerU is accepting author audiobook applications, as well as audiobook sponsorships. Brent Rouble can be contacted directly here.