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Posted on 06/27/2026 3:38:52 PM PDT by ProgressingAmerica
Audiobook industry sales revenue grew 9% in 2025, hitting $2.43 billion, according to the Audio Publishers Association's annual sales survey, conducted by Toluna. Publishers reported more than 750,000 active titles last year, a 43% increase from 2024.
General fiction accounted for the largest share of audiobook revenue at 27%, with science fiction/fantasy, romance, and mysteries/thrillers/suspense rounding out the top genres. The fastest-growing genres in 2025 were humor, general fiction, and children's, including YA.
...
AI-narrated audiobooks remain a marginal interest, representing just 0.03% of sales in 2025. Curiosity about AI-narrated books also appears to be in decline, as those expressing a willingness to try AI-narrated titles dropped from 70% in 2025 to 61% in 2026. Only 16% of audiobook listeners reported having listened to an AI-voiced title.
(Excerpt) Read more at publishersweekly.com ...
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This sector is still growing. It’s been all growth for like 15 years or something now.
Convenience is king. Convenience, convenience, convenience.
And people do not want that fake AI junk. They want real humans talking.
May be of interest
Yup in the middle of one right now. :) Love it for drives.
I know there are cheaper options, but I’ve subscribed to Audible for just under 10 years. A book a month. So over 100 books I wouldn’t have had time to read, since I actually only read a few pages at bedtime before I get too tired
I dunno. Do they skip stuff or do they read 100% of it?
In my experience, they read all of it.
I don’t follow fiction very well in audio, but I purchase lots of nonfiction audible books. I like listening while I do housework.
I’ve never liked audio books. I never had the desire to listen to a book while driving during a trip. I tried listening to Shelby Foote reading his Civil War history series on cassette while on a trip, but I found it too distracting, and would rather listen to music while I’m in the car. I’m old now. Grew up reading actual books that I could hold in my hands. I still prefer a real book in my hands. It took me a long time to buy a Kindle to read books on, and I only read from it while sitting up in bed before I’m ready to turn off the light. If I don’t have anything else going on during the day, I will set aside 4 or more hours, to sit and read from hardback or paperback books. I’ve usually got 5 different books I read from during the day, and then another four I read from before hitting the sack. I don’t turn off the bedside light until 4 a.m. or later each morning.
It’s money (and time) well spent!
Congratulations! I believe you are doing good.
Do you get one free book a month? I know there’s a basic subscription price.
Unless it’s noted as abridged, it’s always unabridged. Andrew Klavan had Eric Mataxas in and recommended his new book on the Revolution. I’m
Listening to it now. It’s
Over 25 hours
The subscription is one book per month. No freebie.
Awesome.
We create our own audio books here at Free Republic - all of them are open source for $free$ in the public domain.
See:
https://freerepublic.com/tag/freeperbookclub/index?tab=articles
Hey that is alright, audio books are not for everybody.
My attitude about non-listeners is that by taking books that have been covered up by the progressives and refreshing them for the 21st century, what happens is that it creates for these books new readers all over again.
A sort of a rediscovery process.
I suspect if you looked through the list of books we’ve recorded you would find at least 1 if not 5 or even a dozen that you would be like - hey wait a second I’m interested in reading this, I didn’t know this even existed.
Even if in the end you only actually read 1 of them.
Hahaha you’re a funny guy.
I don’t get paid for any of the audio books I’ve created.
When I lost my Tea Parties a decade ago I needed a place to put my energy. I was never good at sitting still and just waiting uselessly from one election to another. That’s 730 days inbetween each one.
That is way, way too long of a time to not be doing anything meaningful.
Between Downpour.com which is the download arm of Blackstone Audio and Cloud which works for my two library download services it’s pretty good out there. Hugh Frazier reads Agatha Christie. My favorite reading voice.
For some reason I find women’s voices grating.
Downpour has a daily $3.99 offer. Some gold and some duds. Worth it!
People can’t read coming out of college so audiobooks it is!!!
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