US digital audiobooks continued to grow all year. In October 2024, the format increased by 18.7%, bringing in $86.5 million in revenue. Physical Audio was down 54.2%, bringing in $800 thousand. Digital audiobook sales were up 26.1% yearly, reaching $883.4 million in revenue. Physical Audio was down 36.2%, generating $7.4 million.
E-book sales in the United States had a rare down month in October. Revenues were down 2.5% to $83.9 million compared to October 2023. Year-to-date, e-book revenues were up 2.9% to $861.9 million compared to the first ten months of 2024.
This is the second time audiobook sales have surpassed e-book sales in two months. This is likely because the audio editions cost significantly more than the typical e-book. However, the report does not cover e-books or audiobooks downloaded as a subscription.
In terms of physical paper format revenues during October, in the Trade (Consumer Books) category, Hardback revenues were up 8.8%, coming in at $487.9 million; Paperbacks were up 6.2%, with $321.4 million in revenue; Mass Market was up 11.7% to $10.1 million; and Special Bindings were up 1.5%, with $27.2 million in revenue.
Year-to-date hardback revenues were up 7.5%, coming in at $2.9 billion; Paperbacks were up 3.8%, with $2.7 billion in revenue; Mass Market was down 16.2% to $101.1 million; and Special Bindings were up 4.3%, with $187.4 million in revenue.
This data comes from the Association of American Publishers StatShot, which reports publishing houses’ monthly and yearly net revenue from U.S. sales to bookstores, wholesalers, direct-to-consumer, online retailers, and other channels. StatShot draws revenue data from approximately 1,280 publishers, although participation may fluctuate slightly from report to report.
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.
