Digital book sales in the United States grew for the second time in 2024. This is good news, as more people buy digital content on their e-readers, smartphones, and tablets. E-book revenues were up 2.2% compared to May 2023, generating $84.4 million. Year-to-date e-book revenues were up 2.3% compared to the first five months of 2023, for $422.5 million.

Audiobooks are the fastest-growing segment of digital publishing. The format was up 15.3% for May, generating $80.2 million in revenue. Physical Audio was down 27.0%, coming in at $800 thousand. Year-to-date audiobook sales were up 22.6%, reaching $423.7 million in revenue. Physical Audio was down 21.6%, coming in at $3.7 million.

In terms of physical paper format revenues during May, in the Trade (Consumer Books) category, Hardback revenues were up 21.0%, coming in at $289.1 million; Paperbacks were up 16.7%, with $289.6 million in revenue; Mass Market was up 118.2% to $11.2 million; and Special Bindings were up 28.4%, with $13.6 million in revenue.  Year-to-date Trade revenues were up 5.1%, at $3.6 billion for the first five months. Hardback revenues were up 3.9%, coming in at $1.3 billion; Paperbacks were up 4.6%, with $1.3 billion in revenue; Mass Market was down 15.1% to $50.5 million; and Special Bindings were up 0.8%, with $76.5 million in revenue.