According to the statistics of American Audio Book Publishers Association, in 20 17, the sales of audio books in the United States increased by 22.7%, reaching $2.5 billion (about 172 billion RMB), which is the third consecutive year that the sales of audio books increased by about 20%.
In Britain, from 20 12 to 20 17, the sales of British audio books increased by 148%. In 20 17, the sales of paper books and e-books in Britain decreased by 3%, but the sales of audio books increased by 12% and the sales increased by 15%. At present, the consumption of audio books accounts for 5% of the British book consumption, and the consumption of fictional books accounts for 7%.
The five fastest growing regions in the world are the United States, Germany, Britain, Scandinavia and Japan, with an annual growth rate of 20%-30%. Audio books have been upgraded from a new thing to a highly anticipated force in the publishing industry. What new changes have taken place in the international audio book market in 2065438+2008? The publisher made an inventory at the end of the year.
Introduce "new readers"
Through the latest data analysis, the publishing industry began to realize that audio books did not erode the share of printed or e-books, and the easy listening of digital devices enabled more people to read books in any format. In the past, audio books were considered as "scene tools" suitable for driving or exercising, which liberated hands and eyes. However, according to the report of the American Association of Audiobooks Publishers in the summer of 20 18, the value of audiobooks is once again proved to be far more than that, but it has solved one of the most intractable problems in the world: let people who don't read start reading and let "new consumers" enter the book market.
In 20 16, 24% of Americans, that is, more than 67 million people, listened to at least one audio book. This is 22% higher than 20 15. 48% of adult consumers of audio books are under 35 years old, and readers have a good acceptance of different formats of content. In Britain, in 20 17, 5.7 million readers listened to audio books, mainly aged between 25 and 44, living in cities such as London.
People with high academic qualifications listen more. Among American readers who often listen to books, 37% have a bachelor's degree and 24% have a bachelor's degree or above. In terms of income, the middle class is an active reader group, accounting for nearly half of the annual income between $50,000 and $6,543.8+million.
The young user group indicates that the future development of the audio book market is worth looking forward to. Consumers of audio books are also advocates of other reading forms. Audiences who find audio books listen to 15 books on average every year. Among the readers who often listen to books, 83% also read hardcover books or paperbacks, and 79% also read e-books.
Smartphones have become the mainstream, and CDs have also increased.
According to the 20 18 report of American Audio Book Publishers Association, the proportion of listening to audio books on smart phones is increasing, and 73% of readers have already chosen smart phones as fixed listening devices. In 20 16, the figure is only 29%, and in 20 15, it is 22%. The library is still the main driving force for the consumption of audio books. 52% of the audience said that borrowing audio books from the library helps to form the habit of listening to books. 43% of the audience downloaded at least one audio book from the library in the past year, and 65,438+04% of the audience often used the digital audio books resources of the library. Judging from the pricing of audio books, 39% pricing 10? Between $20, 42% of the price is lower than 10.
The Price Distribution of Audio Books in America
It is worth noting that in addition to the digital version, the sales of traditional media audiobooks are also increasing. Although the sales volume can't be compared with the peak period, the sales volume of CDs is picking up. According to the latest data released by Nielsen Research, in 20 16, 746,000 physical audio books (including CDs and tapes) were sold in the UK, with a total sales of 9.2 million pounds (about 80 million RMB), up 1.23% year-on-year. However, compared with 2008, this figure decreased by 6 1%. 2008 was the last glory of physical audio books, with a record annual sales of 23.7 million pounds, which has been shrinking for the next few years.
Children's books are an important part of audio books. Children's books account for 40.7% of the top 20 * * 240 seats in the UK Audible monthly bestseller list. But most of them are "Harry Potter" series publications. But from another point of view, most children around the age of 7 may not have audio online accounts, so most of the audience of Harry Potter audiobooks are readers of this book, aged around 20.
Children users are the lifeblood of CD survival. In 20 16, Britain sold 750,000 CD audio books, of which 300,000 were children's books. Correspondingly, the proportion of adult books in CD audio books is declining.
There is also a big difference between the best-selling ranking of CD audio books and the downloading ranking of Audible. The non-fiction category of physical audiobooks is occupied by language learning materials, which is the only publishing category that still uses a lot of tapes.
Audio book platform extension
Digital retailers BookBeat, Kobo and AudioBooks.com have all invested in the audiobook market. During the 20 18 Frankfurt Book Fair, Apple also announced that it would launch a new audio book platform, but did not announce the specific date.
As the leader of the UK audiobook download market, Audible's revenue in the UK increased by 45% in 20 17, exceeding 97 million pounds (about 850 million RMB), and its profit also increased from 38.9 million pounds (about 340 million RMB) in 20 16 to 59.9 million pounds (about 530 million RMB). At the same time, Radio Independent Group (RIG), the British audio industry association, is relaunching AudioUK, claiming that its broad responsibility is to "put audio production at the core of Britain's successful creative industry" after the upsurge of audiobooks and podcasts. RIG was established in 2004 to promote fair trade in the audio field, with nearly 65,438+000 member companies, including Penguin Langdon UK and Audible as its supporters.
The audio advertising production market is also growing. According to the data of Ebiquity's ROI activity database, the ROI of audio is the second highest among all media, with a return of 1 for every 1 spent.
Large publishing groups lay out audio books.
Simon and Schuster, Harper Collins, Hachette, Penguin Random House and other large publishing groups have all tasted the sweetness in the field of audio books, invested more money to open new audio departments, increased the variety of audio books, and explored new opportunities brought by audio books.
Several major international publishing groups have increased their investment in audio books.
In the first half of 20 18, the sales of Harper Collins digital audio books increased by 55% year-on-year, which offset the negative impact of the weakness of e-books, and finally the total digital sales increased by 12%. E-books and digital audio books have accounted for 22% of Harper Collins' total income. Robert Thomson, CEO of News Corporation, the parent company of Harper Collins, expressed optimism about the prospect of digital audio books worldwide, saying that Harper Collins "is in contact with several audio book publishers in China. Not only the United States, but also the world's audio reading habits are changing. "
Carolyn Reddy, CEO of Simon & Schuster, called 20 18 the "most successful year". In the third quarter, the group's revenue increased by 5% year-on-year, profits increased by 9%, and audio book sales increased by 27%. Audio books are undoubtedly the fastest growing publishing department of Simon and Schuster. 20 18 Simon and Schuster's best-selling audio book is bob woodward's Fear. "More and more audio book sales platforms have emerged, and more and more outstanding creators, broadcasters and new listening terminals have emerged. Audio books will undoubtedly become an important engine for our future. " Reddy predicted.
Hachette Book Group also said that its third-quarter results benefited from the continued strong sales of digital audio books, but did not disclose specific data.
Sarah Slobo, an audiobook publisher of Little Brown Publishing Company, believes that "audiobook publishers are excited to find that their efforts and investments are creating record-breaking market data. This is an exciting moment for the publishing industry, and every audio book publisher has contributed excellent results. "
Publishers magazine
[publisher]
Read casually and write carefully.
Serious and lively, occasionally off-line