Sounds True was founded in 1985 by Tami Simon with a clear mission: to disseminate spiritual wisdom. Since starting out as a project with one woman and her tape recorder, we have grown into a multimedia publishing company with more than 80 employees, a library of more than 600 titles featuring some of the leading teachers and visionaries of our time, and an ever-expanding family of customers from across the world. In more than two decades of growth, change, and evolution, Sounds True has maintained its focus on its overriding purpose, as summed up in our Vision Statement:
Sounds True exists to inspire, support, and serve continuous spiritual awakening and its expression in the world.
Sounds True is an independent multimedia publishing company that embraces the world’s major spiritual traditions, as well as the arts and humanities, embodied by the leading authors, teachers, and visionary artists of our time. Our approach to publishing is not dependent on a single format or technology—rather, we strive with every title to preserve the essential “living wisdom” of the author, artist, or spiritual teacher. It is our goal to create products that not only provide information to a reader or listener, but that also embody the essential quality of a wisdom transmission between a teacher and a student.
Throughout the years, Sounds True has developed a guiding philosophy that we call “multiple bottom lines.” Our dedication to this principle is embodied in our Mission Statement:
- to find teachers and artists who serve as a gateway to spiritual awakening and to produce, publish, and distribute their work with beauty, intelligence, and integrity.
- to treat our authors, vendors, and partners in the same way we would want to be treated.
- to work flexibly and efficiently together to create a cooperative, loving environment that honors respectful authenticity and individual growth.
- to maintain a healthy level of profitability so that we are an independent and sustainable employee-owned organization.
The three essential bottom lines for Sounds True are the integrity of our purpose, the well-being of our people, and the maintaining of healthy profits. All three of these priorities are important in the decisions we make as a company. It is our conviction that each of these bottom lines must be healthy for the company to prosper as a whole.
In our history as a publisher, Sounds True has produced a wide variety of formats in order to fulfill our goal of disseminating spiritual wisdom.
Spoken Word Audio
Sounds True publishes more than 500 titles about the spiritual journey, meditation, psychology, creativity, health and healing, self-discovery, relationships, and more. These programs, ranging between one and five hours in length, are original recordings featuring teachers who present their own ideas, in their own words. Sounds True recordings are almost always unscripted—transcending the level of a normal audio reading to create a vibrant, living connection between the author and listener.
Audio Learning Courses
With running times between five and 18 hours, Sounds True’s learning courses offer an experience approximate to a college course or continuing-education class.
Books
Our book division features provocative wisdom from respected teachers who embody what they know and who have tested their work in the fire of their own experience. Additionally, Sounds True’s Integrated Learning Series features books with CDs—interactive learning tools that accelerate personal and spiritual development by bringing together the written word with the direct audio instruction that Sounds True has pioneered for more than 20 years.
Interactive Learning Kits
For teaching that is best conveyed through a combination of formats, Sounds True creates our interactive learning kits, providing everything needed for comprehensive study in a single box—usually featuring a thorough study guide or work book, practices on CD and DVD, beautifully designed cards and charts for reference, and other support tools.
Music
Some spiritual truths cannot be conveyed in words—but are carried instantly to the soul when experienced directly through music. Sounds True features inspirational sacred music gathered from many traditions. Each of our musical recordings is intended as a heartfelt offering of the spirit.
Instructional DVDs
Sounds True videos are content-driven works that embrace both bestselling authors and spiritual teachers. We also publish a line of DVDs for instruction in the physical disciplines of spiritual life. To maintain our integrity as a business and a publishing company, we believe that Sounds True must embody the qualities of consciousness and compassion taught by our authors in the day-to-day practice of our business.
We believe in creating a work environment that nurtures creativity, individual expression, and open communication. Sounds True pursues this goal by establishing policies for flexible work schedules, a profit-sharing plan, an ESOP (Employee Ownership) program, quality health and dental benefits, a relaxed (nonexistent) dress code, and compensation programs for helping employees pursue training, volunteer efforts, and spiritual interests outside of work. We also have a pet-friendly office space, so our people can share their workspace with their beloved animal companions.
At Sounds True, we are committed to honoring our relationship with the earth and our community. As part of our environmental commitment, we use 100% wind power in our offices, and use recycled paper for our books, catalogs, and marketing material. We also donate our programs to libraries and charities, and to prisoners through the Sounds True Prison Library Project.
Our Core Values…
Sounds True is a mission-driven business that focuses on multiple bottom lines and honoring all of our stakeholders.
Multiple Bottom Lines
Sounds True is committed to succeeding in terms of three bottom lines: Purpose, People, and Profit.
We fulfill our purpose by publishing titles that inspire, support, and serve continuous spiritual awakening and its expression in the world. Fulfilling this purpose is our reason for being.
We value our people by creating a workplace that fosters authenticity, personal growth, and community. The reward comes through evolving as individuals and caring for each other.
We create profits through working together creatively and efficiently. Optimizing our profitability enables us to re-invest capital into the business and expand our reach, making the other two bottom lines possible.
Honoring All of Our Stakeholders
We are committed to honoring all of Sounds True’s stakeholders. This includes:
- Our authors and artists. We strive to create relationships with our authors and artists that are based on partnership and transparency, and which are characterized by honest and open communication, equitable agreements, and a commitment to act with care and integrity.
- Our customers. We value the intelligence of our customers and are committed to providing them with substantive, genuinely transformative learning experiences. Our titles are carefully produced and beautifully packaged and are backed by Sounds True’s 100% Satisfaction Guarantee
- Our employees. Through a positive work environment, health benefits for families, flexible schedules (when possible), profit sharing, a matching 401K plan, and an employee training and assistance program, we invest in the well-being of all Sounds True employees.
- Our vendors. We are committed to treating our vendors the way that we want to be treated by other companies—with fair terms and paid on time.
- Our investors. We are committed to growing the long-term value of the business through careful planning and re-investing our profits into innovation and growth.
- Our community. Through a matching donation program (matching employee gifts to non-profits two to one) and Sounds True’s prison library project, we are committed to supporting those who are doing good in our community.
- Our earth. We offset 100 percent of the power we use in our offices with wind energy credits, and we are committed to using recyclable materials to the fullest extent possible in all of our catalogs, books, and packaging.
