Big Publishing Is Not as Big Anymore

According to Publisher’s Weekly, a report by the Association of American Publishers’ shows that overall publishing industry sales fell by 2.6% last year when compared to figures from 2014. Now that we have a clearer picture of the industry’s struggles in 2015, we can tell that sales declined in five of the seven major markets. The only industry segments to show improvement, in fact, were adult books and books from religious presses, which increased sales by 2.2% and 1.2% respectively. Overall industry revenue fell from $15.82 billion in 2014 to $15.41 billion in 2015.

One of the more glaring narratives to come from the report shows that digital audiobook sales, which rose by nearly 40%, helped carry the adult books segment out of the red. It’s remarkable, too, that audiobooks should be booming in a historical moment that privileges debate about the print vs. digital divide.