eBook revenues were up 4.0% for the month compared to September 2023 for $90.5 million. Year-to-date eBook revenues were up 3.6% compared to the first nine months of 2023 for $777.9 million. In prior years, eBook revenue declined almost every month, so it is nice to see digital books becoming popular again.
Digital audiobook sales were up 28.1% in September, reaching $89.7 million in revenue. Physical Audio was down 51.1%, at $800 thousand. Year-to-date, digital audiobooks were up 26.9%, reaching $796.9 million in revenue. Physical Audio was down 33.0%, at $6.6 million.
In terms of physical paper format revenues during September, in the Trade (Consumer Books) category, Hardback revenues were up 3.2%, coming in at $400.1 million; Paperbacks were down 12.6%, with $263.2 million in revenue; Mass Market was down 22.1% to $9.1 million; and Special Bindings were down 1.0%, with $27.2 million in revenue.
Year-to-date hardback revenues were up 7.2%, coming in at $2.4 billion; Paperbacks were up 3.5%, with $2.4 billion in revenue; Mass Market was down 18.5% to $91.0 million; and Special Bindings were up 4.7%, with $160.2 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.