Audio News Briefs

Digital audio publishing company Creative Content just signed a deal with digital media distributor OverDrive to sell its business etiquette and self-improvement titles in libraries and schools as well as through online retailers. Creative Content, cofounded last year by Macmillan Audio alum Ali Murden and audiobook narrator Lorelei King, launched its audio-exclusive catalog with a group of guidebooks in "The Lowdown" series late last year; it plans to release six more titles in 2009. More info at www.overdrive.com.

The new Music Online suite from e-database publisher Alexander Street Press debuted last month with 88,000 classical, world, and American music tracks, 285 hours of dance and opera video, 13,000 scores, and 45,000 pages of reference content. This month, the suite will expand to include 20,000 jazz recordings, and by September all of the content in both the African American Music and Smithsonian Global Sound for Libraries collections will also be cross-searchable through the new interface. To request free trial access, email sales@alexanderstreet.com; more info at alexanderstreet.com.

In March, NetLibrary and Recorded Books (RB) unveiled a catalog of 1000 MP3 audiobook titles compatible with iPods, iPhones, and other MP3 players. Available through RB subscription collections and purchase programs only, the titles include contemporary best sellers, classics, and college-level courses from RB's "Modern Scholar" series (Audiolibros titles for Spanish-speaking users forthcoming). For ordering assistance, contact your OCLC or RB sales rep.

Newly available from Nation Earth on CD ($19.99) and as a digital download ($13.97): an audio adaptation of Earthlings, Shaun Monson's award-winning documentary about animal abuse, narrated by Joaquin Phoenix and with music by Moby. "We understand that the film's shocking images are not suited for all viewers," Earthlings executive producer Babak Cyrus Razi has said, "so the audiobook is ideal for anyone who has been hesitant to see the film, or as a way for animal activists or pet owners to introduce their friends and family to animal rights, vegan lifestyles, and the exploitation of animals for profit." More info at www.earthlings.com.