Posted on 10/15/2025 7:08:03 AM PDT by ProgressingAmerica
Audiobook sales returned to a double-digit growth rate in 2024, increasing 13% over 2023, according to the just-released Audio Publishers Association Sales Survey. After a number of years of sales growing at a rate of at least 10% annually, sales rose 9% in 2023. Last year, total sales from the APA members who supply data increased to $2.22 billion; the bump was driven, unsurprisingly, by digital audio, which had a 14% sales increase and accounted for 99% of revenue. The
(Excerpt) Read more at publishersweekly.com ...
Audiobook Sales Up for 10th Straight Year (Jun 8, 2022)
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fwiw
I still like to hold the book in my hands, call me old school.
I wouldn’t call you old school in that regard.
However that is realistically some limitation. I keep an eye on audio book popularity from time to time because we are creating them, and ours are all free/public domain.
We can give as many copies to as many people as we want without the limitation of cost/price or a physical item. In theory anyways. I do run into people from time to time who ask for the link to the text after we transform something. I think that is also useful.
I have nothing against audio books, it’s just that I like to hold the book when I read it, at one time I had an iPad and read a few books on the iPad, eventually I didn’t like that either, I went back to holding the book in my hands, preferably a paperback.
I used to read 2-3 newspapers a day, Jacksonville where I live at one time had two daily papers, a morning and afternoon edition, I would also get the US Today every day.
After reading the papers I would work the crossword puzzles, I loved the Sunday edition, get a big cup of coffee, read the paper and work the crossword puzzle.
I do too; but a lot of housework and other chores are kind of mindless, and I like to listen to something interesting while I work.
I’ve found I can’t do fiction audiobooks; I have to actually read fiction; but I like audio nonfiction, various lectures, podcasts, etc.
Interesting. The person doing the audio has to leave out a lot of the content or do they not?
I usually go on an hour long walk every day.
I usually listen to an audio book during that walk. They are better than podcasts. I can usually link the audio book to my kindle and pick up the story and read when I want.
Also...you can get audio books from the “Libby” app.
If you haven’t looked at the Libby App, you are missing out. It links to your library and you can get books, audio books, and just about any magazine you might want to read....for free.
Well worth the five minutes to set up.
They are usually true to the printed version.
The narrator does impact the book. I’ve had a few that I couldn’t finish because of the way it was read. I had one where the reader had a “valley girl” lilt at the end of every sentence. It was maddening.
But 99% of them are well produced.
Why would you think that? Books I’ve listened to seemed to be complete.
Unless a book is very complex, as in some scientific or philosophical works, listening to a nonfiction audiobook isn’t very different from listening to a radio interview.
I just can’t follow fiction audiobooks as well as nonfiction. When reading fiction I tend to ‘see’ or visualize what is described in the mind’s eye; and that greatly enhances the experience for me.
It’s not so much of an issue with nonfiction.
See if you have Hoopla available at your library.
I have found a lot of books there that are not at my libraries through Libby.
Through the Los Angeles public library I can check out 15 books per month at Hoopla.
Kamala Harris’ book “107 Days” is already on youtube, free. Not saying you should go listen, I heard enough to convince me it’s a waste of time.
Point is, before you buy, see if it’s free somewhere. It probably is.
' I was the same way UNTIL I started using Audible. For one thing by listening to books instead of reading, you don't put strain on your eyes. Also, I sometimes wake up in the middle of the night and I go to my audio book which after 10 or 15 minutes gets me back to sleep again. I set the audio until end of chapter and the next day go back to the last place I remembered before falling asleep.
Finally, it fights boredom. Wherever I go I have the audio books with me on the cellphone and can listen at anytime.
I haven’t had any problem with ‘waiting’, at the doctor’s office, the DMV, etc., since the advent of Kindle and audio books.
Audiobooks are such a different
Experience that electronic books.
I love being read to
I have the library free cloud library free download from local library but most is new stuff. Like the swill found in most public libraries.
I now use Blackstone audio DOWNPOUR. I recommend it highly.
Tremendous variety. And their daily 3.99 specials are wonderful. Have Sowell and many histories. For some reason I only listen to men’s voices comfortably. Plenty of guys.
Good to know. Quite honestly, looking at my royalty statements, the big “boom” everyone expected in audio 10 years ago never showed up. It got to about 13% of my sales, then hit a plateau.
So I hope it goes up more.
Everyone loves a good tale told well. I’m listening to Jane Austin’s “Emma” narrated by Gilbert Godfrey.
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