Audiobook
sales are skyrocketing. Last year, sales
of audiobooks jumped 20.7% over the prior year.
This year’s sales should top two billion dollars. Is this a good trend for the book industry?
Normally,
one celebrates wild growth as it relates to books. However, audiobooks pose a few problems – or
advantages – depending on how you see- or hear things.
First,
since audiobooks are listened to and not read, this means that “readers” are
getting used to consuming books in a non-traditional way. Though there are some benefits to
experiencing a book audibly, it doesn’t necessarily contribute to growing a
more literate nation, certainly not the way reading would.
Second,
because most audiobook sales come as a result of digital downloads – and not
physical CDs – fewer people are going to make bookstore purchases. Indeed, audio downloads are up 85% in a year
and they make up 84% of all audiobook sales.
However,
any growth in the book world is a welcome one.
Many people have good reasons to turn to an audiobook, including:
·
Listening
on the go: car, exercising, plane.
·
Helps
the visually-impaired.
·
Fills
a void for the reading-impaired.
·
Provides
theatrics – with voice, sound effects, and more to the story.
·
Helps
people multi-task while doing other things.
·
Provides
a way for a couple or family to enjoy a book, like a movie, together.
Audiobooks, for all of their growth and success, still can expand further. Audiobook sales only represent 3.3% of all book revenue.
I think that audio books will grow because:
·
Foreign-speaking
Americans can enjoy books in their own language.
·
New
immigrants seeking to learn English may turn to audiobooks.
·
So
many people spend time on the road, traveling for business or pleasure or
errands, and they will like audiobooks.
·
Podcast-listening
is up so this could follow that trend.
·
Audiobooks
provide great quality audio, narration, and content in such a wide variety of
genres – there’s something for everyone.
·
The
number of audiobooks has grown wildly – and they are available 24-7 from any
device (in 4 years, the number of newly released audiobooks grew by 500% to
35,574 annually in 2015).
Would
I love to see print books and bookstore sales grow along with the audiobook
craze? Absolutely. But I still cheer any book sale and hope the
industry continues to grow across the board.
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