Digital audiobook sales in the United States had tremendous growth in 2024. The format generated $2.22 billion, representing a 13% increase over the previous year. The consumption and number of AI-narrated audiobooks have increased, though the willingness to try AI-narrated audiobooks dropped year-over-year, from 77% in 2023 to 70% in 2025.
The Audio Publishers Association 2025 Consumer Survey, conducted by Edison Research, found 51% of Americans aged 18 and older, an estimated 134 million people, have listened to an audiobook. There is a notable increase in interest among non-listeners: 38% say they are interested in audiobooks, up from 32% last year, with the number of those very interested nearly doubling from 10% to 18%.
Piracy continues to be a concern for the audiobook industry. The Edison data found that 35% of Audiobook listeners have listened to an audiobook on YouTube, up from 27% in 2023. One of the top reasons (76%) for using YouTube was cited as the products being available at no cost, which are largely pirated.
Other key insights from the 2025 research:
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A growing share of listeners cite accessibility as a key factor in audiobook consumption: 72% say it’s important that audiobooks are available on their preferred listening platform, and 63% value access through their library app..
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General Fiction accounts for the largest share of revenue by genre and grew by 16% over 2023 revenue. Science Fiction / Fantasy, Romance, and General Non-Fiction make up the remaining top genres by revenue.
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The largest year-on-year increases in genre sales were seen in Romance (+30%), Children’s & YA (+26%), and Science Fiction / Fantasy (+21%).
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.