Digital book sales in the United States grew for the second time in 2024. This is good news, as more people buy digital content on their e-readers, smartphones, and tablets. E-book revenues were up 2.2% compared to May 2023, generating $84.4 million. Year-to-date e-book revenues were up 2.3% compared to the first five months of 2023, for $422.5 million.
Audiobooks are the fastest-growing segment of digital publishing. The format was up 15.3% for May, generating $80.2 million in revenue. Physical Audio was down 27.0%, coming in at $800 thousand. Year-to-date audiobook sales were up 22.6%, reaching $423.7 million in revenue. Physical Audio was down 21.6%, coming in at $3.7 million.
In terms of physical paper format revenues during May, in the Trade (Consumer Books) category, Hardback revenues were up 21.0%, coming in at $289.1 million; Paperbacks were up 16.7%, with $289.6 million in revenue; Mass Market was up 118.2% to $11.2 million; and Special Bindings were up 28.4%, with $13.6 million in revenue. Year-to-date Trade revenues were up 5.1%, at $3.6 billion for the first five months. Hardback revenues were up 3.9%, coming in at $1.3 billion; Paperbacks were up 4.6%, with $1.3 billion in revenue; Mass Market was down 15.1% to $50.5 million; and Special Bindings were up 0.8%, with $76.5 million in revenue.
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.
