• Trend: Audiobooks see increasing readerships
  • Who’s doing it: Combined efforts from publishers and indie writers… And support from readers, of course
  • Why it’s important: Successes in different publishing media impact how future publishers and writers will try to reach new audiences

These days, if you want to check out a new book, you have more options available to you than paperbacks and hardcovers. In the past few years, audiobook platforms have pulled increasing readerships, especially now amid the pandemic when many libraries have closed or restricted their capacities and operating hours.

According to an article from Publisher’s Weekly, the Audio Publishers Association (APA) reported a 24.5 percent increase in revenue and a 27.3 percent increase in audiobook units sold in 2017. And in 2019, the APA said the average audiobook buyer listened to 8.1 books compared to the prior year’s 6.8 book average.

Audiobooks are even set to eclipse ebooks in popularity, which impacts every area of publishing. For big trade publishers, this means investing more in recording audiobooks and creating more celebrity-narrated book recordings. For book marketers and publicists, this means focusing efforts more on auditory projects, like podcast interviews. And for indie writers, this means investing in recording readings of their own works.

Audiobooks and podcasts have seen an increase in viewership amid the pandemic (Source: Matiluba is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Whether you’re a writer, publishing industry hopeful or reader, here are some audiobook platforms to keep your eye out for:

  1. Audible: The Amazon-owned platform carries over 200,000 titles and many of them are exclusive to their library
  2. Google Audiobooks: Launched in 2018, Google Audiobooks is growing fast. Right now, Google is developing AI technology to convert ebooks to audiobooks for more accessible listening.
  3. Librivox: Librivox offers free public domain audiobooks for listening that won’t break the bank
  4. Kobo Audiobooks: This Toronto-based company produces affordable e-readers and audiobooks.
  5. Downpour: Downpour offers audiobook subscriptions from one of the largest independent audiobook publishers in the United States, Blackstone Audio.