Audio listening platform Audible has released a feature which synchronizes ebooks with corresponding audiobooks. What might seem an unnecessary duplication is pitched as an aid to concentration and immersion. As the narration proceeds, the spoken passages are highlighted on the screen. Users must own both the audiobook and the ebook to put this feature in motion. This launch is rolling out in both the Android and iOS versions of the Audible app. U.S. users get it first, with a selective European rollout (UK. Australia, Germany) in the works. Learning languages is one clear use case.
“How can advertisers take advantage of the latest evolution within the audio landscape?” That question serves as premise for surveying a range of sales and marketing professionals. Responses come from executives at AudioStack, Clinch, DanAds, Adform. Limelight, Azerion, and Curated.Media. Some themes: Audio is appealing to a broader set of advertisers; a deeper focus on how creative aligns with targeting; audio is no longer a sidekick and is now an AI-driven ecosystem; audio advertising is not an estimated $38 billion industry. There’s much more HERE.
Unsurprising accolade
The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) is surprising nobody with its bestowal of its annual Biggest-Selling Global Artist of the Year 2025. It is the sixth time Swift has received the accolade, and the fourth consecutive., motivating Victoria Oakley (CEO, IFPI) to declare ”Taylor Swift’s sixth IFPI Global Artist of the Year award is a truly historic achievement.” While Swift’s stardom gets the headlines, there’s other news in today’s IFPI release. The organization calls 2025 “another landmark year,” for Swift. Recognition is also given to Korean group Stray Kids (#2 artist), Bad Bunny (sixth consecutive year on the chart).
February 19, 2026
