AAP May 2020 Statshot Report

The Association of American Publishers (AAP) today released its StatShot report for May 2020 reflecting reported revenue for all tracked categories, including Trade (consumer publications), K-12 Instructional Materials, Higher Education Course Materials, Professional Publishing, and University Presses.

Total revenues across all categories for May 2020 were approximately $1.0 billion, a decline of 12.1% as compared to May 2019. Year-to-date sales were $4.3 billion, a decline of 4.5% as compared to the same period last year.

Trade sales were down 7.9% year-over-year, coming in at $635.8 million. Year-to-date (Jan-May 2020) Trade sales were $2.8 billion, a decline of 1.5%, as compared to the same period in 2019.

Physical paper formats in the Trade (consumer publications) category saw declines during the month, with Hardback revenues coming in at $212.1 million, a decline of 18.5%; Paperback revenues were $201.1 million, a fall of 16.9%; and Mass Market was $22.6 million, down 0.6%. On a year-to-date basis, Hardback revenues were $967.9 million, down 6.7%; Paperbacks were $924.5 million, down 3.0%; and Mass Market was $83.9 million, a decline of 1.2% as compared to the first five months of 2019.

eBook and Downloaded Audio revenues were both bright spots in May, and on a year-to-date basis:

eBook revenues were up 39.2% for the month as compared to May 2019 for a total of $113.0 million. On a year-to-date basis, eBooks were up 7.3%, coming in at $435.4 million for the first five months of 2020.

Downloaded Audio revenues saw a 22.0% increase as compared to May of last year, reaching $54.2 million in revenue. On a year-to-date basis, Downloaded Audio was up 15.8% as compared to the first five months of 2019, with a total of $262.5 million for the year so far. The Downloaded Audio format has seen continuous growth every month since 2012. Notably, Downloaded Audio revenues in the Children’s and YA Books category saw a strong 69.4% year-over-year increase in May to $5.4 million, lifting the total year-to-date Downloaded Audio revenues in the category by 24.7% to $23.7 million.

Religious press revenues were up 7.0% year-over-year in May, coming in at $58.5 million, but down 6.6% on a year-to-date basis, with revenues of $264.5 million for the first five months of the year.

Year-to-date revenues were down 9.9%, coming in at $1.5 billion. Revenues from Higher Education Course Materials were up 19.4% to $130.0 million for the month. On a year-to-date basis, Higher Education Course Materials revenues were up 8.9%, reaching $771.5 million.

PreK-12 Instructional Materials revenues were $221.7 million, a drop of 32.5% compared to May of last year, and year-to-date revenues in the category were $489.5 million, a decline of 30.7% as compared to the first five months of 2020.

Professional Books, including business, medical, law, technical and scientific, declined 3.7% for the month, generating $53.1 million in revenue. The category saw a decline of 3.5% year-to-date, with $194.3 million in revenue during the first five months.

University Presses declined 5.4% as compared to May of 2019, bringing in $3.1 million in revenue. On a year-to-date basis, University Presses declined 10.1%, bringing in $16.8 million for the first five months of 2020.
https://publishers.org/news/aap-may-2020-statshot-report-publishing-industry-declines-12-1-for-month-and-4-5-year-to-date/

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