There are people who don’t simply listen in passing. They listen consciously. They listen to immerse themselves. For them, an audio drama is not background noise, but a place. A space. A kind of small parallel universe that opens up for a few hours.
Audio dramas and fictional podcasts need distribution that fits their format.
Streaming has made many things possible, no question. But it has also changed something: listening has become more fleeting. More fleeting than some people would like. These people can sense when something has been made with heart. They notice whether the crackling in the forest sounds real, whether a dialogue comes alive, whether music sits not just behind it but in between. And they also notice that this feeling is becoming rarer. Not because good audio dramas have suddenly disappeared. But because much of what we hear ends up on platforms that operate by different rules – rules made for short pieces of music, not for long, elaborately produced stories. Stories that need time. Need money. And care.
At the same time, a new pressure is growing: AI produces content faster and more cheaply, and some people wonder whether this is supposed to become the new standard. Whether things made with love can still keep up – and whether anyone will still pay for them at all.
This is precisely where a thought emerges that many listeners have already had without saying it out loud: perhaps we should be able to own stories again. Perhaps not necessarily on CD or a bulky vinyl record (for those who still remember what that is). But at least as a file? Ownership not out of nostalgia, but out of appreciation.
That is why we developed LISTORY. So that stories can stay.
Listory is designed for one-time purchases and permanent downloads of audio drama series. No expiry dates, no subscription. Purchased stories remain available as files. Everyone who contributed – authors, actors, musicians and sound designers – is visibly credited. Not just because copyright law requires it, but because it is decent and fair.
At the same time, Listory is a place that makes fair payment possible for the people who create these works. Payment based neither on seconds nor on algorithms – but on the value of their artistic work, from which they must earn their living.
Listory is not a revolution. More a quiet, small countermovement intended to make us think. At launch, it featured only Audio Quants productions. The project explores an additional distribution route for carefully produced audio stories – with visible contributor credits and a purchasing model that allows permanent ownership of the files.
Listory began as a small experiment, and the site still needed some optimisation at launch. Nevertheless, the first buyers found the platform through Google or recommendations before any advertising had been placed. These first purchases and downloads were an encouraging beginning for the new distribution model.
For authors, publishers and project partners, Listory raises a question that reaches beyond any single release: how can elaborate audio productions be distributed so that stories remain available and their contributors’ work receives an appropriate value? We welcome conversations about these distribution routes and possible collaboration.
About Audio Quants
Audio Quants develops, produces and distributes audio dramas, audiobooks and fictional audio series. We create our own originals and productions in collaboration with authors, publishers and project partners.
Press materials
The PDF edition and images for this announcement. Image packages contain original files and their corresponding credits.