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Recorded Books: the story on HearLore | HearLore
— Ch. 1 · Founding Vision And Early Days —
Recorded Books.
~5 min read · Ch. 1 of 6
Henry Trentman founded Recorded Books in 1978 within a small office in Charlotte Hall, Maryland. He was a traveling salesman who spent hours driving and listening to the radio. Trentman believed commuters needed better quality recorded books on cassette tape than what existed at the time. Most audiobooks sold then were abridged versions lasting only two to four hours. He envisioned unabridged productions spanning twenty or more tapes that could be rented through mail order. The company's first recording arrived in 1979 as The Sea-Wolf by Jack London. Frank Muller, a local actor from Washington DC's Arena Stage, narrated this initial release. Muller later recalled meeting a traveling salesman with a crazy idea about recording books onto cassettes for commuters. For the first six years, Trentman worked part-time because revenue did not justify full-time employment. Commercial audiobooks began taking off in the early eighties when suburbanites discovered they mitigated long car commutes. Claudia Howard of Recorded Books described the business as a primitive Netflix where customers called an 800 number to rent cassettes for thirty days. These rentals came in cardboard boxes containing rows of cassettes sent through the mail.
Technological Evolution Of Distribution
The company established its headquarters in Prince Frederick, Maryland during the 1980s. In the 1990s, it created an in-house sales department and a separate department focusing on schools and education. By 1997, Recorded Books began selling directly to the U.K. market. The company launched W.F. Howes Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary in the United Kingdom, by 1999. Physical media evolved from cassette tapes to compact discs over several decades. The last ten years saw a shift toward digital downloads and streaming services. Customers could now stream titles straight to their computers or download them directly to cellphones. This transition marked a significant departure from the original model of mailing physical boxes to subscribers. The evolution allowed the company to reach audiences who preferred instant access over waiting for postal delivery. Sales figures reflected this changing landscape with new metrics emerging alongside traditional revenue streams.
Who founded Recorded Books and when was it established?
Henry Trentman founded Recorded Books in 1978 within a small office in Charlotte Hall, Maryland. He was a traveling salesman who spent hours driving and listening to the radio before starting the company.
Where is Recorded Books headquartered and what are its international subsidiaries?
The company established its headquarters in Prince Frederick, Maryland during the 1980s. International subsidiaries include W.F. Howes Ltd. in the U.K. and Wavesound based in Australia.
When did Haights Cross Communications acquire Recorded Books and what happened next?
Haights Cross Communications acquired Recorded Books in December 1999. In January 2014, Haights Cross sold Recorded Books to Wasserstein & Co., an independent private equity firm based in New York and Los Angeles.
What major acquisitions did Recorded Books make between 2014 and 2015?
In May 2014, Recorded Books acquired HighBridge Audio from Workman Publishing. January 2015 brought news of Tantor Media acquisition by Recorded Books, which later grew their catalog to exceed 22,000 titles.
How many audiobook titles does Recorded Books have in its catalog as of late summer 2015?
Their final catalog size hit 25,000 titles by late summer of that year following the Shamrock Advisors acquisition. This growth came after annual publishing rates reached 3,000 new books in August 2015.
Haights Cross Communications acquired Recorded Books in December 1999. Under this ownership, Recorded Books operated as a division of Haights Cross. In 2002, Haights Cross purchased Audio Adventures, a brand tied to 650 rental kiosks located in truck stop centers. January 2014 announced that Haights Cross sold Recorded Books to Wasserstein & Co., an independent private equity firm based in New York and Los Angeles. May 2014 saw Recorded Books acquire HighBridge Audio from Workman Publishing. HighBridge Audio was initially founded by Minnesota Public Radio in the early 1980s. It produced recordings of Garrison Keillor's A Prairie Home Companion before expanding its catalog. January 2015 brought news of Tantor Media acquisition by Recorded Books. Later that same year, Wasserstein sold Recorded Books to Shamrock Advisors, another private equity firm. April 2017 marked a reorganization where the new parent company name became RBMedia. This structure created imprints including ChristianAudio, Gildan Media, and Wavesound operating out of Australia.
Strategic Expansion Through HighBridge
HighBridge Audio had been producing approximately 45 titles annually since its founding in the early 1980s. The company specialized in spoken word audio cassettes, CDs, and downloadable audiobooks. It gained fame for publishing public-radio related titles alongside Oprah's Book Club selections. HighBridge utilized two readers for productions involving works with primarily two main characters. Popular titles published under this imprint included The Time Traveler's Wife and Water for Elephants. Life of Pi and Across the Nightingale Floor also appeared within their extensive catalog. Acquiring HighBridge allowed Recorded Books to expand into bestseller territory previously unexplored by their core library focus. The integration added depth to their offerings while maintaining high production standards. Public radio connections provided a unique angle that distinguished them from competitors selling standard commercial fiction. This strategic move strengthened their position against other major players in the growing market.
Global Operations And Market Reach
Recorded Books operates as an imprint of RBMedia with global operations across multiple countries. International subsidiaries include W.F. Howes Ltd. in the U.K. and Wavesound based in Australia. Domestic distribution networks serve libraries, resellers like Audible, and direct customers through audiobooks.com. In June 2020, Blackstone Audio secured a deal to exclusively manufacture physical media audiobook titles for North America. These titles include CD and MP3 formats available to consumers, retail partners, and libraries. Sales representatives operate throughout the United States to support regional demand. Studio director Claudia Howard oversaw operations from Maryland where most employees were based. Fifteen staff members worked out of New York offices while another fifteen operated from the United Kingdom branch. This geographic spread enabled the company to handle diverse markets efficiently without relying solely on domestic sales channels.
Production Scale And Sales Metrics
A 1989 newspaper article reported Recorded Books held about 450 titles compared to roughly 2,500 from competitor Books on Tape. The company focused more heavily on sound recording quality than its main rival did. Six years later, a 1995 article stated Recorded Books had produced 1,600 books total. By 2004, they released 800 new unabridged titles annually with 650 going to libraries or rental services. Only fifty of those 650 titles reached the retail sales market directly. One hundred fifty titles sold exclusively into the U.K. market during that same period. First quarter 2004 generated more than $16 million in net sales for the organization. January 2014 press releases claimed over 13,500 audiobook titles existed within their catalog. After acquiring Tantor Media in January 2015, the catalog grew to exceed 22,000 titles. August 2015 reports following Shamrock Advisors acquisition showed annual publishing rates reaching 3,000 new books. Their final catalog size hit 25,000 titles by late summer of that year.