Good e-Reader eBook revenues were up in 2023 and generated $1.0 billion

Digital book revenues in the United States were up 0.6% in 2023, generating $1.0 billion. Digital audiobooks are the fastest-growing segment in digital publishing, and sales were up 14.9%, reaching $864.0 million in revenue. Physical Audio was down 16.2%, coming in at $12.9 million; this shows that digital audiobooks are killing off the tape and CD market.

Trade revenues were down 0.3%, at $8.9 billion for the calendar year. Hardback revenues were up 0.4%, at $3.3 billion; paperbacks were down 2.0%, at $3.1 billion; Mass Market was down 22.9%, at $140.0 million; and Special Bindings were up 2.2%, at $210.0 million. Year-to-date revenues for print and digital were up 0.4%, at $12.6 billion for 2023.

In terms of physical paper format revenues during December, in the Trade category, Hardback revenues were down 8.6%, coming in at $245.3 million; Paperbacks were down 7.2%, with $244.0 million in revenue; Mass Market was up 5.4% to $11.0 million; and Special Bindings were down 14.2%, with $18.1 million in revenue.eBook revenues were up 16.3% for the month compared to December 2022, for $90.3 million. Digital Audio was up 24.5% for December, generating $81.9 million in revenue. Physical Audio was down 7.8%, coming in at $1.1 million.

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.