Book Publisher Revenues Flat for First Three Quarters of 2017

For the first three quarters of the year publishers’ revenues (sales to bookstores, wholesalers, direct to consumer, online retailers, etc.) were flat (-0.5%) compared to the same period in 2016. Trade books saw slightly declining revenues (-0.9%) for the year-to-date.

The book publishing industry’s largest category (31.1% of the market) Adult Books – was flat (+0.4%) for the year-to-date. Conversely, both Children’s and Young Adult Books (-3.5%) and Religious Presses (-3.3%) saw declines.

The categories with the most growth were those with small shares of the overall book publishing market -Professional Books (+6.2%) and University Presses (+4.6%).

Downloaded audio has been growing by double digits over the past three years, and the first three quarters of 2017 reflect continued growth, with publisher revenue up +26.2%. Notably, with revenues of $244.8 million for Jan. – Sept. 2017, downloaded audio is two months ahead in revenue that in was in 2016 (revenue for Jan. – Nov. 2016 was $244.1 million.)

Publisher revenues for eBooks generally decline, with publisher revenues down -5.5% for the first three quarters of 2017 vs 2016. One exception is Religious Presses, which has seen +9.5% growth in eBooks for the first nine months of 2017 compared to 2016, with revenues climbing from $25.9 million to $28.4 million.
more detail at:  http://newsroom.publishers.org/book-publisher-revenues-flat-for-first-three-quarters-of-2017/

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