Help a college student get a degree by filling out a quick survey about Broadway and audiobooks

[DroughtofApathy]

Posted: 2/8/23 at 10:33am

Hey, everyone. I'm a graduate student in a publishing program and for our capstone we have to create a hypothetical publishing company/imprint/etc. For my project, much like musicals get cast albums, I want to adapt Broadway plays into audiobooks. This survey is to gauge interest in that sort of product and to figure out some more logistical things. It's super quick (nine questions, multiple choice, will take less than five minutes). If you're interested, please help me by filling out the survey linked below. Thank you, I am not above begging. Everything is anonymous, and no personal info is shared or collected.

https://forms.gle/Xfgvse83KfsMSQNP8

[kdogg36]

Posted: 2/9/23 at 11:54am

I'll just confirm that this is a super-quick survey that doesn't require filling in a text box, so definitely go ahead and fill it out if you have (literally) a minute.

Updated On: 2/9/23 at 11:54 AM

[lukaernandes]

Posted: 2/15/23 at 12:38pm

Filled in the survey, hope it helps!

[lukaernandes]

Posted: 2/15/23 at 12:40pm

I also wonder if it's just an educational task, or do you really think about adapting plays into audiobooks?

[DroughtofApathy]

Posted: 2/15/23 at 1:42pm

Thanks for helping out. Right now this is all hypothetical for a capstone project, but I would love to see this become something viable in the future. 

[Dollypop]

Posted: 2/15/23 at 6:39pm

The link didn't work for me

[AnnJohnson]

Posted: 2/16/23 at 4:13am

DroughtofApathy said: "Thanks for helping out. Right now this is all hypothetical for a capstone project, but I would love to see this become something viable in the future."

I think that it might be so. Audiobooks are quite popular nowadays, so listening to Broadway plays may also be popular. But yes, it requires some research first of all. And it's cool that you have such interesting projects at school. I also have a lot of practical tasks, but nothing has been connected to the theater yet, but next semester I'll visit theater lessons, and I'm sure we will have something interesting. And for now, I have to write many papers on different issues. The last one was about whether college should be free or not. I've found so much interesting info online on that topic, and here https://eduzaurus.com/free-essay-samples/reasons-why-college-should-not-be-free/ I even managed to read an example, which actually was very helpful. I've not finished my writing, but I think that making education free is not the best idea. And, of course, I'll give all the arguments. And maybe, even create a questionnaire.

Good luck with the project!
 

Updated On: 5/12/23 at 04:13 AM

[John Adams]

Posted: 2/16/23 at 7:44am

Truly not wishing to "rain on your parade", but given that a capstone project is meant to devise an innovative solution for a real-world problem (see: What is a Capstone Project), and that your survey lists 3 publishers that are already publishing audio books of plays, isn't the problem already solved?

I'm interested in hearing more about your goals regarding innovations to the already existing format(s) and your thoughts regarding why those formats present as being problematic. 

Mostly, I'm interested in what you see re: the problem(s). I completely understand if you wouldn't want to "give away the store" re: possible innovations just yet. 

[DroughtofApathy]

Posted: 2/16/23 at 10:20am

Sure, I'm happy to share more information. The three publishers of plays I've listed are all doing great work and I've enjoyed several of their productions. I wouldn't say any of them are problematic in the way they operate or the content they produce, but they're all doing different things. Audible Theatre has a focus on producing work at Minetta Lane Theatre and commissioning Audible Originals, LATW has an incredible collection of work over decades, and the BBC collection is full of classic lit adapted to a radio drama format. This market is by no means already saturated just by this alone. 

My capstone focuses on bringing Broadway-level productions to audiobook format and increasing accessibility to a notoriously inaccessible level of theatre. This fills a niche in the market I briefly described above. In the grand scope of the publishing industry, three isn't a large number. For example, there are well over 100 Fantasy imprints, and those are just ones with some degree of notoriety, but new fantasy imprints are still being created. Increasing viable diversity in the marketplace is never a bad thing, especially in something as niche as audiobook play adaptations. 

Also I should note that while "What is a capstone project?" does provide a good explanation of what a capstone can be in the broad sense, it was a sponsored post from York University in Canada, and you'll find most graduate programs tailor their requirements and definitions a little more specifically. My program requires students to present a business model for a new media company of our own creation, including competitive analysis, content creation, and a detailed financial model with multiple revenue streams. We're only a few weeks into the process but I'm happy to answer any more questions or clarifications. 

 

[John Adams]

Posted: 2/17/23 at 9:04am

DroughtofApathy said: "...you'll find most graduate programs tailor their requirements and definitions a little more specifically. My program requires students to present a business model for a new media company of our own creation, including competitive analysis, content creation, and a detailed financial model with multiple revenue streams."

Thanks so much for the clarification! Also, I'd never been aware of, or heard of an "imprint", so that was another enjoyable learning tidbit. Thanks for that, too!

I'm looking forward to seeing how you'll transform stage directions from a printed or visually enacted format to audio. To my mind, that would be a difficult hurdle re: keeping the listener engaged (as if they were in the theater), as opposed to being read to. You didn't ask about it in your survey, but as a possible future consumer, that's where my greatest interest lies. An opportunity for innovation, maybe?

Your venture reads as being very exciting and interesting! I hope you'll update this thread with your progress. I'm very interested to watch the growth of your success!

[Jarethan]

Posted: 2/18/23 at 5:37pm

I just filled it out.  How many responses have you gotten…do people need to be reminded?