Audio Sales Slipped 6% in 2008

By Jim Milliot -- Publishers Weekly, 6/24/2009 7:40:00 AM

Total revenue from the 30 companies that report figures to the Audio Publishers Association fell 6.7% in 2008, to $331 million, the trade association said Tuesday. The sales figure compares to the $172 million sales estimates released by the AAP and the $229 million estimate of the PW/IPR sales index. This is the first time the APA has released actual sales figures from its members.

CDs continued to comprised the largest share of the spokenword market, although its share fell from 78% in 2007 to 72% in 2008, or about $238 million. Digital downloads accounted for 21% of sales last year--$69.5 million--compared to 17% of revenue in 2007. Sales of pre-loaded audio devices rose from 1% of sales in 2007 to 3% last year, the same percentage as accounted for by cassettes.

Retailers accounted for 36% of sales, the report found, while libraries represented 32% of sales. Wholesalers took 16% of the business. Adults bought 83% of spokenword audio with the balance accounted for by the children/teen market. And, as usual, fiction accounted for the vast majority of sales, 73%, compared to 27% for fiction, and unabridged books out earned abridged 85% to 13%.

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