Audiobook sales have been the fastest-growing segment in digital publishing for the past five years. In 2023, audiobook sales were up 14.9%, reaching $864.0 million in revenue. However, 2024 is set to be a banner year, as the first ten months of 2024 generated $883.4 million in revenue. The global audiobook market is set to grow to $35.05 billion by 2030.
Audiobooks are becoming more mainstream. 38 percent of American adults listened to an audiobook in 2024, up from the 35% reported in 2023. This rise signals an increase in overall consumption as well. Of the most avid audiobook listeners, those who have listened to an audiobook in the last year, the average audiobook consumed was 6.8 titles in the year, up from 6.3 in 2023. Of the broader group of those who had ever listened to an audiobook, the average was 4.8 audiobooks listened to in the last year, up from the 4.0 average in 2023.
One significant driving factor of audiobook sales has been subscription-based content, such as Audible, Scribd, Kobo, and Spotify. Subscriptions to audiobook services continue to grow, with 63% of those who listened in the last year currently subscribing to at least one service. This percentage is up from the 62% reported in 2023.
Quick Facts
- In 2023, the U.S. accounted for over 44% audiobook market.
- There are 200,000 audiobooks on Audible.
- Piracy is also a concern for the industry. 47% of those who listened to an audiobook last year say they got one for free through YouTube or another file-sharing website.
- The number of UK audiobook downloads increased by 17% between 2022 and 2023, according to data from the Publishers Association.
- Audiobook revenue rose 24% across the same period to £206m in 2023, reflecting an increase in audiobook downloads from 50m to 59m, the trade body said.
- The European audiobook market is estimated to be worth more than $850 million and is projected to grow 18.6 percent yearly.
- Preferred Device to listen to audiobooks; Smartphones, laptops and tablets.
- Spotify has said that it has paid audiobook publishers “tens of millions” since allowing users 15 hours of audiobook listening in its Premium subscription package last autumn.
- Audiobooks are typically 28 MB or 10 hours long.
Audible and AI
- Audible holds a 63.4% market share of the audiobook market in the United States.
- Audible is the industry leader in generating revenue, earning twice as much per audiobook sold as the rest of the industry. However, Audible only publishes 13.5% of the total audiobooks each year.
- In 2024 Audible launched Virtual Voice: A generic voice that can narrate books on Audible
- They also unveiled AI voice replicas: Created by inviting professional narrators to train AI on their voices
- As of May 2024, over 40,000 books on Audible are marked as having been created with AI.
- Audible’s goal is to add more audiobooks to the service quickly and cheaply. However, the initiative has raised red flags for human narrators.
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.
