Book publishers generated a growing portion of their total revenues from the sale of non-print materials in 1999, according to a survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. According to the survey, revenues of multimedia and online materials rose 12.2% in 1999, to $2.43 billion, while sales of printed materials increased 6.5%, to $19.84 billion. Sales of multimedia and online products represented 10.1% of total industry revenues in 1999 compared to 9.6% in 1998. Sales of online materials grew the fastest in 1999, increasing 14.3%, to $1.62 billion, while sales of multimedia products rose 8.4%, to $811 million.

Estimated Revenue, Printing Expenses and Inventories for Book Publishers: 1998 and 1999
($ in Millions) 1999 ($ in Millions)1998 Percent Change 1999/1998
Revenue Total $24,129 $22,480 7.3%
Sources of revenue
Revenue from the sale of printed material 19,840 18,622 6.5
Revenue from the sale of electronic or non-printed material (except audio), total 2,434 2,168 12.2
Multimedia 811 748 8.4
Online 1,623 1,420 14.3
Revenue from the sale of audio books 198 191 3.8
Revenue from the sale of publication rights 247 235 5.2
Contract printing 361 428 -15.7
Other revenues 1,048 836 25.5
Expenses
Purchased printing 4,104 3,908 5.0
Inventories at end of year
Total 2,984 2,737 9.0
Finished goods and work-in-process 2,723 2,510 8.5
Materials, supplies, fuel, etc. 261 227 14.6
Source: U.S. Census Bureau.