Hobby: I'm trying to write a simulator for Brandon Sanderson's cosmere magic system using a vector database to represent the in-universe spiritual realm and all it's connections, and small AI models to represent intents.
Not all authors are against this either. Some big names are all in supporting Spotify (and other new audiobook platforms) because they are sick of Amazon/Audible monopoly.
Personally though, Spotify's audiobook user experience is paltry compared to a dedicated app.
How does Spotify affect ‘number of books sold’ statistics? I am an author and I don’t much care about statistics (the win for me is how often my readers directly engage with me) but I have a couple of author friends who are obsessed with sales numbers.
This year I have been shifting content platforms, buying audio books from Libra.fm and buying eBooks from Kobo. That said I am still a loyal Amazon, Apple Books, and Google Play Books customer.
I don't think it matters too much. I know someone who is a little obsessed with gaming Amazon book rankings - sort of the same thing as NYT bestsellers list.
