In two surveys organized by non-profit trade group Audio Publishers Association, conducted by two research companies, we learn:
- Audiobook sales revenue grew by double digits in 2024. Increase in audiobook sales revenue to $2.22 billion in 2024, 13% over the previous year. Sales increases continue to be driven by digital audiobooks, which accounted for 99% of revenue in 2024 and grew year over year by 14%. This info is from The Audio Publishers Association Sales Survey, conducted by global research company Toluna.
- Fifty-one percent of American adults (134 million people) have listened to an audiobook. There is a notable increase in interest among non-listeners: 38% say they are interested in audiobooks, up from 32% last year, with the number of those very interested nearly doubling from 10% to 18%.
The work behind these numbers is from Edison Research, which queried 1,700 U.S. adults, commissioned by the Audio Publishers Association.
Behind the headlines are several key insights from this survey:
- A growing share of listeners cite accessibility as a key factor in audiobook consumption: 72% say it’s important that audiobooks are available on their preferred listening platform and 63% value access through their library app.
- General Fiction accounts for the largest share of revenue by genre and grew by 16% over 2023 revenue. Science Fiction / Fantasy, Romance, and General Non-Fiction make up the remaining top genres by revenue.
- The largest year-on-year increases in genre sales were seen in Romance (+30%), Children’s & YA (+26%), and Science Fiction / Fantasy (+21%).
- The consumption and number of AI-narrated audiobooks has increased, though willingness to try AI-narrated audiobooks dropped year-over-year, from 77% in 2023 to 70% in 2025.
We find the last point especially interesting. The displacement of human readers by AI performances is a key item of concern among professional narrators, many of whose freelance reading work is an uneven, hot-and-cold business.
More HERE.
