Publishing revenue in the United States generated 29.9 billion dollars in 2023 for books, course materials, audiobooks, and ebooks. This is a minor 0.8% decline compared to the final stated numbers for 2022. However, it is a 6.1% increase over the pre-pandemic figure of $28.2 billion in 2019.
In the industry overall, digital formats accounted for 16% of all revenue for 2023, representing an increase of 6.3% year-over-year. Within Trade, digital formats accounted for 23% of all income for 2023, representing an increase of 9.4% year-over-year. The eBook format has declined, with a slight decrease of 0.2% and made $2.4 billion. Revenue from digital audio increased again this year, climbing 14.2% to $2.3 billion.
Print formats (Paperbacks, Hardbacks, Mass Market, and Special Bindings) accounted for 55% of all revenue for 2023, a decrease of 2% yearly. Within Trade, print formats accounted for 72% of all income for 2023, representing a decrease of 0.8% yearly. Hardback revenue outpaced Paperback revenue in 2023. Hardbacks increased 1.1% to $8.0 billion, while paperbacks decreased 4.4% to $7.7 billion.
Estimated Industry Revenue
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- Trade (consumer books), the industry’s largest category, decreased by 1.4% to an estimated $18.7 billion.
- Higher Education revenue increased by 1.5% to $3.9 billion.
- PreK-12 Education increased 0.3% to $5.2 billion.
- Professional Books increased 1.5% to $1.7 billion.
- Religious Presses, a subcategory of Trade, increased 6.7% to $1.5 billion.
- University Presses decreased 9.8% to $0.6 billion.
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.