Almost all of the spoken-word content sold at iTMS is provided under an arrangement with Audible.com, a fine company which has pioneered the distribution of spoken-word audio online. MARS HILL AUDIO was distributing a few products through Audible.com long before Steve Jobs ever thought of selling audio online. For example, Gilbert Meilaender's Bioethics: A Primer for Christians, which we sell on cassette, has been available in a downloadable format for a long time through Audible.com. And when Apple entered into an agreement with Audible, suddenly Gilbert Meilaender was there in the iTunes Music Store, along with Eminem and Shakira and many others bereft of a last name. (If you have iTunes on your computer, click here to behold this wonder.)

Because of the terms of our contract, if you were to purchase Dr. Meilander's book from iTMS, MARS HILL AUDIO would see a profit equal to only about 10-15% of the amount we would see if you were to buy it from us. As convenient as the iTMS has made the purchasing of downloadable audio, as a struggling nonprofit organization, dependent on the sale of products for our survival, we just can't afford to take advantage of their services.

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