Digital book sales in the United States generated $83.3 million dollars in February 2020, which was a 5.6% decline from the same period last year. Digital audiobooks continued to grow during the month, with a 19.8% increase as compared to February of last year, reaching $56 million in revenue. On a Year to Date basis, Downloaded Audio was up 17.3% as compared to the first two months of 2019, with a total of $106 million for the year so far. The Downloaded Audio format has seen continuous growth every single month since AAP began tracking it in 2012.
Within Trade, Religious Presses was the category with the highest growth in Downloaded Audio, coming in at 26.2% for the month with a total of $4 million. Meanwhile, Downloaded Audio for Adult Books represented the bulk of the format’s overall revenues, with a 20.1% increase year-over-year to $48million in revenues. On a Year to Date basis, Downloaded Audio for Religious Presses was up 22.6%, coming in at $7 million during the first two months of the year, and Year to Date revenues from Downloaded Audio of Adult Books were up 17.2% to $91 million.
Trade sales were up 2.7% as compared to February 2019, coming in at $538 million. Year to Date Trade sales were up 3.2%, totaling $1.1 billion for the first two months of the 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.
