Many people are surprised to learn that there have been audio books available since the 1930s when the first music book recording was made and released. Some eighty years later, people are enjoying the ability to listen to "books on tape," although they are rarely on tape anymore. In fact, in this digital age, a free MP3 audio book that can be downloaded to an iPod is probably the most sought after type of music book these days.



Even though audio books had been available for a number of years, they really gained in popularity in the late 1970s when the Sony Walkman became so popular. This small cassette tape player made it possible for people to easily take recorded material with them in a convenient way that had never before been popular.

Then, about a decade later, the compact disc was introduced and suddenly the newest and best music and audio books on CD became more popular. While you can still buy an audio book on CD today, most people prefer to get their music books in MP3 format.

There is no doubt that a little searching will produce a wide array of free MP3 audio book downloads from a number of websites. However, it is pretty unlikely that if you are looking for a brand new audio book release of a recent bestselling book that you'll find it as a free download. Those new and popular titles will be available for sale though, and many via a download after purchase.

In some instances, an author, or their publisher, will offer a free MP3 audio book version of the work to customers who purchase the printed hardcover book. This can be a valuable incentive to the customer and also an effective advertising and marketing strategy that is particularly helpful when a brand new author is trying to gain a name and reputation.

Many times, an independent author who does not have their own publisher will build a website to promote a new book that they have written and will offer the free MP3 audio book as a bonus when the customer buys their printed book or their e-book. This can also be a good way to drive up sales or to launch a new website because people are always attracted to the potential to get something for free and most people consider an music book download to have a lot of value, especially if it is on a topic about which they are interested.

There are a number of websites these days that have vast libraries of MP3 music book downloads that cover just about any topic that have ever been written about. Some of these sites are membership websites and when you register as a free member or purchase a paid membership to their site, many will provide their new members with free MP3 audio book selections as a part of their membership.

You can also find many free MP3 audio book downloads by searching the websites of the various large public libraries. Also, there are some specialized websites that have undertaken projects of collecting a vast number of works that are now in the public domain and they have made e-books and audio books available for people to download either for free or by making a small donation to help with the costs of running the website.