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By Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief | @Porter_Anderson
Trade Audio Jumps 38.8 Percent Over August 2023
In its August 2024 StatShot report released this morning (October 29), the Association of American Publishers (AAP) cites total revenues across all categories up 8.5 percent over August 2023.
Year-to-date revenues, the AAP reports, were up 7.8 percent at US$9.3 billion.
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 several interesting comments from the StatShot authors on their August 2024 report, we read, “Gross sales were up by 8.5 percent; however, due to a 21.9-percent decrease in returns, net sales increased by 13.4 percent.”
The commentary also recognizes—without causal interpretation—that “digital audio sales experienced another significant net increase of 38.8 percent,” perhaps performing something of an understatement with the descriptor “significant.”
In adult books, the discussion tells us, in the trade category, “Both fiction and nonfiction contributed” to that 11.8 percent rise in August, “with fiction sales up 14.7 percent and nonfiction sales up 8.5 percent. This contributed to a 9.4-percent year-to-date increase in adult book sales, with fiction growing by 13.6 percent and Nonfiction by 4.6 percent.”
In children’s and young adult books, net sales increased by 7.6 percent year over year, the guidance indicates, with fiction for young readers rising 6.6 percent and nonfiction rising by 12.2 percent. Year-to-date, however, “this sub-category remains relatively flat, with a 0.6-percent increase.
And university presses, the input also notes, saw an 18.2-percent increase in net sales over August 2023.
That may be timely good news for member publishing houses of the Association of University Presses, which are observing their annual University Press Week activities, November 11 to 15.
Trade Revenues
Year-Over-Year Numbers
Trade revenues were up 13.4 percent in August over the same month last year, at $848.2 million.
In print formats:
- Hardback revenues were up 17.1 percent, coming in at $297.4 million
- Paperbacks were up 6.7 percent, with $302.0 million in revenue
- Mass market was down 35.8 percent to $8.6 million
- Special bindings were up 3.6 percent, with $21.5 million in revenue
In digital formats:
- Ebook revenues were up 6.1 percent for the month as compared to August 2023 for a total of $90.4 million
- The avidly watched digital audio format was up a commanding 38.8 percent for August 2024, coming in at $93.9 million in revenue. (Digital audio remains 11.1 percent of total trade sales in August, as our graphic indicates.)
- Physical audio was down 54.8 percent, coming in at $600,000
Year-to-Date Numbers
Year-to-date, the industry’s trade revenues were 8.1 percent, at $5.9 billion for the first eight months of the year.
In print formats:
- Hardback revenues were up 8.0 percent, coming in at $2.0 billion
- Paperbacks were up 5.9 percent, with $2.1 billion in revenue
- Mass market was up down 18.1 percent to $ 81.9 million
- Special bindings were up 6.0 percent, with $133.0 million in revenue
In digital formats:
- Ebook revenues were up 3.5 percent as compared to the first eight months of 2023, for a total $684.7 million
- The digital audio format was up 26.8 percent, at $707.1 million in revenue
- Physical audio was down 29.2 percent, coming in at $5.8 million
Religious Press Performance
Year-Over-Year Numbers
Religious press revenues were up 47.4 percent in August, coming in at $85.3 million.
- Hardback revenues were up a sharp 85.8 percent to $55.0 million in revenue
- Paperback revenues were 6.1 percent to $15.7 million
- Ebook revenues were down 3.6 percent, coming in at $4.1 million
- Digital audio revenues were up 25 percent at $4.4 million
Year-to-Date Numbers
On a year-to date basis, religious press revenues were up 21.1 percent, reaching $563.7 million.
- Hardback revenues were up 30.0 percent at $339.7 million in revenue
- Paperback revenues were up 10.1 percent to $110.8
- Ebook revenues were up 2.5 percent at $35.8 million
- Digital audio revenues were up 17.6 percent at $35.1 million
Education
During August 2004, revenues from higher education course materials were down 1.2 percent for the month, as compared to August 2023, coming in at $479.9 million, while year-to-date higher education course material revenues were up 4.9 percent, at $1.7 billion.
Professional Books
Professional books, including business, medical, law, technical and scientific, were 0.4 percent during the month, coming in at $40.6 million.
Year-to-date professional books revenues were $308.0 million, down 0.9 percent as compared to the first eight months of 2023.
About the AAP StatShot Reports
Quoting the StatShot copy on methodology, as usual: “AAP StatShot reports the monthly and yearly net revenue of publishing houses from US 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) Like any business, it is 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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