A November 2024 day on Carson River in Lyons County, Nevada. Image – Getty: Christopher Thienel
By Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief | @Porter_Anderson
Digital Audio, Year-to-Date, Up 25.0 Percent
In its November 2024 StatShot report released this morning (January 23), the Association of American Publishers (AAP) cites total revenues across all categories up 10.3 percent over November 2023, at US$1.1 billion.
Year-to-date revenues, the AAP reports, were up 7.3 percent at $13.3 billion for the first 11 months of 2024.
As Publishing Perspectives readers know, the AAP’s numbers reflect reported revenue for tracked categories including trade (consumer books); religious presses; higher education course materials; and professional publishing.
In discussion, the StatShot team points out that the trade in November 2024 in the States saw a 15.1-percent decrease in returns, contributing to gross sales increasing 5.6 percent, and net sales 7.9 percent.
- The news for the robust trade digital audio community is good once more, trade net sales ascending another 16.1 percent in November 2024. That is the eighth consecutive month and 10th month within 2024 with an increase.
- Once more, as in October 2024, by format year-to-date, digital audio sales represented 15.0 percent of adult book sales.
- Trade adult books increased net sales by 9.7 percent in November 2024 compared to the same month in 2023.
- Adult fiction increased 19.3 percent and adult nonfiction experienced a 2.2-percent increase in net sales. This contributed to an 8.2-percent year-to-date increase in
- Adult book sales, with fiction growing by 14.0 percent and nonfiction growing by 2.3 percent.
In children’s and young adult books, fiction net sales decreased by 4.5 percent, with nonficion increasing 16.1 percent in November 2024 over November 2023. Year-to-date, the sub-category of children’s and YA in the US trade was relatively flat at 0.2 percent for the months of January to November 2024.
Trade Revenues
Year-Over-Year Numbers
As noted, trade revenues were up 7.9 percent in November 2024 at $919.8 million over the same month in 2023.
In print formats:
- Hardback revenues were up 6.9 percent, coming in at $384.9 million
- Paperbacks were up 7.7 percent, with $286.6 million in revenue
- Mass market was up 17.5 percent to $11.6 million
- Special bindings were up 8.3 percent, with $25.2 million in revenue
In digital formats:
- Ebook revenues were up 2.7 percent for the month as compared to November 2023 for a total of $83.3 million
- The digital audio format was up 16.1 percent for November 2024, coming in at $94.3 million in revenue
- Physical audio was down 29.1 percent, coming in at $800 thousand.
Year-to-Date Numbers
Year-to-date, the industry’s trade revenues were up 7.0 percent at $8.8 billion for the first 11 months of the year.
In print formats:
- Hardback revenues were up 7.4 percent, coming in at $3.3 billion
- Paperbacks were up 4.2 percent, with $3.0 billion in revenue
- Mass market was down 13.7 percent to $112.7 million
- Special bindings were up 4.7 percent, with $212.7 million in revenue
In digital formats:
- Ebook revenues were up 2.9 percent as compared to the first 11 months of 2023 for a total of $945.1 million
- The digital audio format was up 25.0 percent, coming in at $977.5 million in revenue
- Physical audio was down 35.5 percent, coming in at $8.2 million
Religious Press Performance
Year-Over-Year Numbers
Religious press revenues were up 24.6 percent in November, coming in at $101.9 million.
- Hardback revenues were up 23.9 percent to $66.0 million in revenue
- Paperback revenues were up 23.1 percent to $15.5 million
- Ebook revenues were down 6.9 percent, coming in at $4.3 million
- Digital audio revenues were up 5.4 percent at $4.9 million
Year-to-Date Numbers
On a year-to date basis, religious press revenues were up 19.2 percent, at $841.1 million.
- Hardback revenues were 24.6 percent at $520.1 million in revenue
- Paperback revenues were up 11.4 percent to $157.5 million
- Ebook revenues were up 0.6 percent at $48.1 million
- Digital audio revenues were up 14.8 percent at $47.6 million
Education
During November 2024, revenues from higher education course materials were $125.8 million, up 39.9 percent compared with November 2023.
Year-to-date higher education course materials revenues were $2.4 billion, up 7.2 percent compared to the first 11 months of 2023.
Professional Books
Professional books, including business, medical, law, technical and scientific, were up 5.5 percent during the month, coming in at $37.1 million.
Year-to-date professional books revenues were $422.8 million, up 0.1 percent as compared to the first eleven months of 2023.
About the AAP StatShot Reports
The StatShot program provides this statement: “The Association of American Publishers’ StatShot reports the monthly and yearly net revenue of publishing houses from United States sales to bookstores, wholesalers, direct-to-consumer, online retailers, and other channels. StatShot draws revenue data from approximately 1,280 publishers, although participation may fluctuate slightly from report to report.
“StatShot reports are designed to give ongoing revenue snapshots across publishing sectors using the best data currently available. The reports reflect participants’ most recent reported revenue for current and previous periods, enabling readers to compare revenue on both a month-to-month and year-to-year basis within a given StatShot report.
“Monthly and yearly StatShot reports may not align completely across reporting periods, because: (a) the pool of StatShot participants may fluctuate from report to report; and (b) as in any business, it’s common accounting practice for publishing houses to update and restate their previously reported revenue data. If, for example, a business learns that its revenues were greater in a given year than its reports first indicated, it will restate the revenues in subsequent reports to AAP, permitting AAP in turn to report information that is more accurate than previously reported.”
More from Publishing Perspectives on industry statistics is here. More on the Association of American Publishers is here, more of our coverage of AAP StatShot reports is here, and more on the US market is here.
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