Digital book sales in the United States have been strong since the summer. In August 2024, e-book revenues were up 6.1%, generating 90.4 million dollars. Year-to-date e-book revenues were up 3.5% compared to the first eight months of 2023, for $687.4 million. It is good to know that people are reading digitally again, whether on their Kindle, Kobo, Nook e-readers or through various apps for smartphones and tablets.
Audiobook sales in the digital format continue to be the fastest-growing segment in digital publishing. Audiobooks have surpassed e-book sales for August and the first eight months of the year for the first time. The Digital Audio format was up 38.8% for August, coming in at $93.9 million in revenue. Physical Audio was down 54.8%, coming in at $600 thousand. Year-to-date digital audiobook sales were up 26.8%, reaching $707.1 million in revenue. Physical Audio was down 29.2%, coming in at $5.8 million.
In terms of physical paper format revenues during August, in the Trade (Consumer Books) category, Hardback revenues were up 17.1%, coming in at $297.4 million; Paperbacks were up 6.7%, with $302.0 million in revenue; Mass Market was down 35.8% to $8.6 million; and Special Bindings were up 3.6%, with $21.5 million in revenue. Year-to-date Hardback revenues were up 8.0%, coming in at $2.0 billion; Paperbacks were up 5.9%, with $2.1 billion in revenue; Mass Market was down 18.1% to $81.9 million; and Special Bindings were up 6.0%, with $133.0 million in revenue.
This data comes from the Association of American Publishers (AAP) StatShot, which reports publishing houses’ monthly and yearly revenues from U.S. 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.