Recently, the Wall Street Journal ran an article on the surge in popularity for audiobooks. We here at Edison are not only big fans of the medium, we also study it! In fact, we have been tracking audiobook consumption for a couple of years in our Infinite Dial research series, which we publish in partnership with Triton Digital.
The Wall Street Journal article noted that sales of audiobooks in the U.S. and Canada jumped 21% in 2015 over the past year, and the signs for 2016 are equally encouraging. To give some context for that growth, we present The Audiobook Consumer 2016, a short presentation of some of the most important stats in the audiobook universe.
Two highlights of this report worth noting: First, the percentage of Americans who have ever listened to an audiobook continues to grow, and now stands at 43% of Americans 12+ (up from 41% in 2015.) What is even more significant, however, is the increase in the number of audiobooks being consumed. In 2015, according to The Infinite Dial, audiobook consumers listened to an average of 5.8 audiobooks in the year preceding the study. For 2016, that figure is now 6.7 audiobooks listened to in the past year.
With the listener base growing, and the number of books consumed also growing, it’s a good time for the medium, indeed.
A total of 2,001 persons were interviewed to explore Americans’ use of digital platforms and new media. From 1/5/16 to 2/10/16, telephone interviews were conducted with respondents age 12 and older who were selected via Random Digit Dial (RDD) sampling. Interviews were 52% landline phones and 48% mobile phones.
About Edison Research:
Edison Research conducts survey research and provides strategic information to a broad array of clients, including Activision, AMC Theatres, Disney, Dolby Laboratories, ESPN, Google, Gulf News, the U.S. International Broadcasting Bureau, Pandora, Samsung, Siemens, SiriusXM, Sonos, Sony, Time Warner and Yahoo. Edison Research works with many of the largest American radio ownership groups, including Bonneville, Emmis, Entercom, CBS Radio and Radio One. Another specialty for Edison is its work for media companies throughout the world, conducting research in North America, South America, Africa, Asia, and Europe. Edison Research is the sole provider of election exit poll data for the National Election Pool comprised of ABC, CBS, CNN, FOX, NBC and the Associated Press. Edison is also the leading provider of consumer exit polling and has conducted face-to-face research in almost every imaginable venue.
About Triton Digital:
Triton Digital’s® (http://tritondigital.com) technology has connected audio supply to advertising demand since 2006, providing the technical backbone for the digital audio marketplace. The company’s innovative technology enables both live and on-demand publishers to build audience and revenue globally. As a pioneer in the space, Triton Digital has made that audience available programmatically for the first time, maximizing audience buying efficiency for advertisers across the world.
