ebook sales soared 16.8% in April 2024

For the first time this year, digital book sales increased in the United States by 16.8% in April. The format generated $83.1 million in sales. Digital Audiobook sales were up 54.6%, reaching $100.0 million in revenue. Physical Audio was down 15.0%, coming in at $800 thousand.

Looking at the overall trend, e-book revenues for the year-to-date period were up by a modest 2.3% compared to the first four months of 2023, amounting to $338.1 million. On the other hand, the Digital Audio format showed a more significant growth of 24.5%, reaching a revenue of $343.5 million. However, physical Audio saw a decline of 19.8%, with sales amounting to $2.9 million.

When it comes to physical paper format revenues in April, the Trade (Consumer Books) category saw a mixed performance. Hardback revenues showed a promising increase of 16.6%, amounting to $252.6 million. Paperbacks also fared well, with a growth of 20.3% and a revenue of $249.9 million. However, Mass Market saw a significant decline of 34.5% to $8.2 million. Special Bindings, on the other hand, showed a moderate growth of 13.7%, with a revenue of $14.4 million.

Year-to-date Trade revenues were up 2.3%, at $2.8 billion for the year’s first four months. Hardback revenues were down 0.2%, coming in at $985.3 million; Paperbacks were up 1.6%, with $1.0 billion in revenue; Mass Market was down 27.8% to $39.2 million; and Special Bindings were down 3.6%, with $62.9 million in revenue.

Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.