![]() “Even more encouraging are the continued upward trends in consumer listening behavior – both in how many titles they listen to per year and in their finding more time in their day to listen.” “Eight straight years of double-digit revenue growth is simply phenomenal,” says Chris Lynch, President & Publisher of Simon & Schuster Audio. This has resulted in an 18% increase in the number of new audiobook titles that have been released and in 2019 over 60,303 new titles were produced, this is a dramatic increase from the 44,685 new titles that were issued in 2018. Major publishers such Audible, Hachette Audio, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Penguin Random House, and Simon & Schuster have said that they have been investing in opening more studios and narrators in order speed up production. Other people found that the act of listening to an audiobook more immersive and intimate than reading. Why are audiobooks becoming big business in the UK? Over half of audiobook listeners, 57%, say that they have no time to sit and read physical books. “This is not an age group that is traditionally a strong book-buying group.” A study by The Publisher’s Association found 54% of UK audiobook buyers listen to them for their convenience, while 41% choose the format because it allows them to consume books when reading print isn’t possible. Laurence Howell, content director at Audible – the Amazon-owned audiobook platform – says they’ve also seen big growth in the 18-to-24 age group. Research by Nielsen Book found downloads of audiobooks in the UK were particularly high among urban-dwelling males aged 25 to 44. Lee Langford, Senior Research Director, technology, media, telecoms & entertainment, at Harris Interactive, said: “The publishing world is enthusiastic about the positive trend of audiobooks in recent years and, with further growth of 25% predicted for 2020, there are key learnings from our research that will help maximise the potential. Overall, men, far more than women, listen to audiobooks while working, commuting and running outdoors. ![]() Their main reasons for doing so include entertainment and brain stimulation. The average audiobook users are affluent men, aged between 18 and 34 years old, who listen to at least four audiobooks every 12 months. In 2019 audiobook sales increased by 43% and generated £69 million. In the United Kingdom new Research by Harris Interactive found that in 2019 15% of Brits listened to an audiobook, while print remains the most dominant force with 77% of the population have read one in the past year. Digital audiobook sales are likely higher than they are reported by Booknet Canada, this is because major publishers do not disclose how much revenue they are generating from their content in subscription based sites, such as Scribd or Kindle Unlimited. Meanwhile paperbacks account for 49% of all book purchases and ebooks continue to grow at 17%. Hardcovers accounted for 24% of purchases, which is down from 25.9% in 2018. Meanwhile in Canada, in 2019, 5% of book purchases were audiobooks, which is up from 3.6% in 2018. Although the automobile is still the number one place where people listen to audiobooks, the home is where audiobooks are played for longer durations. In a recent poll from the American Audiobook Publishers Association found that 60% of respondents own a smart speaker, and 46% of smart speaker owners have used it to listen to an audiobook, which is up 31% from 2018. How are people in the US listening to audiobooks? Smart speakers are becoming increasingly popular from products such as Amazon Echo, Google Home or Apple HomePod. 57% of frequent audiobook listeners are under the age of 45 this is up from 51% in 2019. The most popular audiobook genre continues to be Mysteries/Thrillers/Suspense. You know what is surprising about that $1.2 billion digital audiobooks made? Ebooks only made $983 million, so for the first time ever, US audiobook sales have eclipsed ebook sales.Įdison Research national survey of American audiobook listeners ages 18 and up found that the average number of audiobooks listened to per year increased to 8.1 in 2020, up from 6.8 in 2019. Last year audiobook sales increased by 16% in the United States and generated over $1.2 billion dollars in revenue, whereas in 2018 it only made $940 million, an increase of 25% from 2017. Not only is the entire publishing industry making more money, but there is more choice available for customers. Digital audiobooks continue to be the fastest growing segment in publishing.
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