The audiobook industry has been experiencing double digit growth for the past three years. There is little to no data in regards to users listening patterns because companies such as Audible, Apple, Barnes and Noble, Findaway, Scribd and hundreds of others do not release this type of information. Luckily Audiobooks.com is bucking this trend and has just released some new data that sheds some light on the most popular genres, the times of year where sales experience a boom period and how many titles the average listener purchases.
Takeaways:
- There is a significant spike in downloads during June, which the industry recognizes as Audiobook Month so there are combined marketing efforts to encourage listening
- During the Christmas season, there is a gradual dip in listening
- Users are busier during the holidays with friends and family time
- Listeners far prefer fiction titles (64% of downloads) to non-fiction titles (36% of downloads)
- Top fiction genres:
- Mystery thriller
- SciFi and Fantasy
- Romance
- Top non-fiction:
- Biographies,
- Health, mind, body and soul
- Business
- While it’s intuitive to expect a seasonal change for certain books, we find that there isn’t much at all.
- For example, there’s an insignificant bump in horror popularity during Halloween while romance popularity does not change at all during Valentine’s season.
- The top ten most popular books match the pattern of most popular books overall – showing that the audiobook consumer closely follows the patterns of the general book market
- A useful insight for audio publishers, who do not need to find markers for audiobook users specifically but can safely follow trends of the general market
- Our top users got through over 75 books and over 1000 hours of audio in 2016 – more than a book a week
- Story: Consumption varies widely, but audiobooks are quickly becoming part of everyday routines, allowing people to intake books at a phenomenally increasing rate
Looked at:
- Seasonal downloads
- Most popular downloads – Top ten for 2016 (excl. giveaways)
- Downloads per genre
- Seasonal genre changes
How total downloads change monthly
Total downloaded books PER USER by month in 2016
Avg Books/user | |
Jan | 1.04 |
Feb | 0.97 |
Mar | 1.11 |
Apr | 1.06 |
May | 1.05 |
Jun | 1.24 |
Jul | 1.03 |
Aug | 1.11 |
Sep | 1.01 |
Oct | 0.98 |
Nov | 0.93 |
Dec | 0.91 |
Most popular downloads: Top 10 for 2016
Rank | Title | Author | Narrator |
1 | The Girl on the Train: A Novel | Paula Hawkins | India Fisher, Clare Corbett, Louise Brealey |
2 | A Game of Thrones | George R.R. Martin | Roy Dotrice |
3 | Me Before You: A Novel | Jojo Moyes | Susan Lyons, Anna Bentink, Steven Crossley, Alex Tregear, Andrew Wincott, Owen Lindsay |
4 | The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo | Amy Schumer | Amy Schumer |
5 | A Clash of Kings | George R.R. Martin | Roy Dotrice |
6 | All the Light We Cannot See: A Novel | Anthony Doerr | Zach Appelman |
7 | Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children | Ransom Riggs | Jesse Bernstein |
8 | The Nightingale | Kristin Hannah | Polly Stone |
9 | You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life | Jen Sincero | Jen Sincero |
10 | Bossypants | Tina Fey | Tiny Fey |
Downloads by genre
Fiction | 23% |
Mystery & Thriller | 12% |
Science Fiction & Fantasy | 8% |
Biographies | 8% |
Romance | 8% |
Health, Mind, Body & Soul | 6% |
Business | 6% |
Children’s | 4% |
Literature | 4% |
Young Adult | 4% |
Patterns of downloads by genre by month
Chart depicts percentage of total user base that month that listen to each genre. Also, if you get tired of listening to audiobooks, you can check out All Jackpots online casino. If you happen to live in Canada, the All Jackpots casino is the right choice for you.
Data:
Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
General Fiction | 26% | 25% | 29% | 26% | 28% | 28% | 28% | 29% | 26% | 25% | 23% | 23% |
Mystery & Thriller | 13% | 12% | 14% | 13% | 14% | 14% | 13% | 15% | 13% | 13% | 14% | 13% |
Science Fiction & Fantasy | 11% | 10% | 11% | 10% | 11% | 11% | 10% | 10% | 9% | 8% | 8% | 8% |
Biographies | 7% | 7% | 8% | 8% | 9% | 9% | 9% | 10% | 9% | 9% | 9% | 9% |
Romance | 9% | 9% | 10% | 10% | 10% | 10% | 9% | 9% | 8% | 7% | 6% | 6% |
Health, Mind, Body & Soul | 8% | 6% | 7% | 7% | 7% | 8% | 7% | 8% | 7% | 7% | 6% | 7% |
Business | 7% | 7% | 7% | 7% | 7% | 8% | 7% | 7% | 7% | 6% | 6% | 6% |
Horror | 2% | 2% | 2% | 2% | 2% | 2% | 2% | 2% | 2% | 2% | 2% | 1% |
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.