In the first six months of the year, ebook revenue generated $493 million dollars for American publishers. This was a small decline of 3.8% as compared to the same period in 2018. It looks like the ebook industry has stabilized.
Digital audiobook sales was up 33.8%, reaching $279 million while physical audio declined by 18.0%, coming in at $17 million. Downloaded audio was up 33.8%, reaching $279 million while physical audio declined by 18.0%, coming in at $17 million. Downloaded audio accounted for 8.1% of all Trade sales during the first six months of 2019. audio accounted for 8.1% of all Trade sales during the first six months of 2019.
Audiobook and ebook revenue combined is far ahead this year. They now account for 22.3% of reported trade sales.This is good news for the e-reader and digital note taking industries, because it shows people are buying more hardware and continuing to populate their device with a myriad of digital content.
E-Reader companies never release sales data, such as how many units they sell on a monthly or yearly basis, so we have to infer. Web traffic on our own website is up stabstanically. People seem to be commenting more on e-reader related articles and reviews. E-Reader sales have increased by over 70% on the Good e-Reader Store. Websites like TechCrunch, Verge and Engadget are reviewing more e-readers this year, than any other year.
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.
