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On October 22, Amazon renamed Kindle Unlimited to Kindle+ and put audiobooks inside the subscription. The headline was the rebrand. The real change is the default: an AI-narrated version of any enrolled ebook now goes onto the shelf automatically, with no decision and no studio.

Meanwhile the industry's own numbers say US audiobook sales hit $2.43 billion last year, 58% of American adults have listened, and only 16% of listeners have ever tried an AI-voiced book, with willingness to try one falling from 70% to 61% in a year.

In this episode, Jeff lays out why a #1 bestseller badge and six hours of the author's own voice do two different jobs, why the buyer who hires you is more likely to be in a car than at a desk with your paperback, and how he has chosen 210 audiobooks since 2009 with one rule: is the author reading it?

Amazon built the shelf. It did not build your relationship.

The Move: read it yourself, on purpose.

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Two years ago, Instagram told businesses to keep video under three minutes. This week it announced a test of videos up to ninety minutes, in the main feed, with a path to your television. Same company, same customers, opposite instruction.

In this episode, Jeff walks through the two reversals, why the stated reason has shifted from how people behave to where people are, and what it means when a platform asks businesses for their most expensive asset, long-form video, in exchange for distribution it can re-price at will and no share of the revenue.

The heart of the episode is a distinction every CEO can use: two videos can look identical on the day they post. One is built for the feed and belongs to the platform. The other is built to answer a question your buyer must have answered before they’ll trust you, and that one is yours wherever it lives.

The move: the next time someone says, "We should be doing video," don’t answer with a platform. Answer with a question.

Send us Fan Mail

On October 22, Amazon renamed Kindle Unlimited to Kindle+ and put audiobooks inside the subscription. The headline was the rebrand. The real change is the default: an AI-narrated version of any enrolled ebook now goes onto the shelf automatically, with no decision and no studio.

Meanwhile, the industry’s own numbers say US audiobook sales hit $2.43 billion last year, 58% of American adults have listened, and only 16% of listeners have ever tried an AI-voiced book, with willingness to try one falling from 70% to 61% in a year.

In this episode, Jeff lays out why a #1 bestseller badge and six hours of the author’s own voice do two different jobs, why the buyer who hires you is more likely to be in a car than at a desk with your paperback, and how he has chosen 210 audiobooks since 2009 with one rule: is the author reading it? Amazon built the shelf. It did not build your relationship.

The Move: read it yourself, on purpose.