A May view in lower Manhattan. Image – Getty: Luvemakphoto
By Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief | @Porter_Anderson
Trade Digital Audio Up 11.3 Percent in May
In its May 2025 StatShot report released this morning (July 29), the Association of American Publishers (AAP) cites total revenues across all categories down 7.5 percent for May, as compared to analysis from May 2024.
Year-to-date revenues, the AAP reports, were down 2.8 percent.
As Publishing Perspectives readers know, the AAP’s numbers reflect publisher-reported revenue for tracked categories including trade (consumer books); religious presses; higher education course materials; and professional publishing.
Observations from the StatShot Authors
Several points noted in the May report:
- Digital audio returned to its usual monthly-increase pattern, after an interruption in that norm for April. Digital audio represented 11.4 percent of total net sales for the month of May.
- Both paperback and hardback net sales, representing over 70 percent of sales together, decreased 12.7 percent and 10.3 percent, respectively, year to date. Paperback sales
declined 8.3 percent and Hardback sales increased 1.1 percent. - Year-to-date, adult fiction net sales declined 4.9 percent, while nonfiction decreased 2.7 percent. In the adult sector, digital audio accounted for 15.4 percent of sales, with a 9.8-percent year-over-year increase and a 3.7-percent year-to-date increase.
- In children’s and YA books, net sales decreased 5.8 percent in May 2025 compared to May 2024 and are flat with a decrease of 0.4 percent year to date.
Trade Revenues
Year-Over-Year Numbers
Trade revenues were down 8.1 percent May over the same month last year, at US$737.0 million.
Image: AAP
In print formats:
- Hardback revenues were down 10.3 percent, coming in at $251.7 million
- Paperbacks were down 12.7 percent, with $262.6 million in revenue
- Mass market was down 33.0 percent to $7.0 million
- Special bindings were up 8.4 percent, with $14.7 million in revenue
In digital formats:
- Ebook revenues were up 0.4 percent for the month as compared to May 2024, for a total of $84.9 million
- The avidly watched digital audio format was 11.3 percent for May 2025, coming in at $84.1 million in revenue; this will cheer the perpetually enthusiastic audiobook supporters who watched their favorite format take an uncharacteristic 12.5-percent dive in April
- Physical audio was down 54.9 percent, $400,000
Year-to-Date Numbers
Year-to-date, the industry’s trade revenues were down 2.8 percent at $3.6 billion for the first five months of the year.
In print formats:
- Hardback revenues were up 1.1 percent, coming in at $1.3 billion
- Paperbacks were down 8.3 percent, with $1.3 billion in revenue
- Mass market was down 21.1 percent to $38.1 million
- Special bindings were down 3.6 percent, with $72.8 million in revenue
In digital formats:
- Ebook revenues were up 2.9 percent, as compared to the first five months of 2024, for a total of $440.5 million
- The digital audio format was up 3.1 percent, coming in at $412.2 million in revenue
- Physical audio was down 42.6 percent, coming in at $1.9 million
Religious Press Performance
Year-Over-Year Numbers
Religious press revenues were down 3.1 percent in May, coming in at $65.6 million
- Hardback revenues were down 9.0 percent to $38.6 million in revenue
- Paperback revenues were down 8.3 percent to $10.7 million
- Ebook revenues were up 11.9 percent, coming in at $3.7 million
Year-to-Date Numbers
On a year-to date basis, religious press revenues were down 0.2 percent, at $349.3 million
- Hardback revenues were down 0.4 percent at $211.8 million in revenue
- Paperback revenues were down 4.8 percent to $63.0 million
- Ebook revenues were down 8.2 percent at $20.8 million
Education
During May 2025, revenues from higher education course materials were $109.5 million, down 1.6 percent compared with May 2024.
Year-to-date higher education course materials revenues were $937.5 million, up 6.5 percent compared to the first five months of 2024.
Professional Books
Professional books, including business, medical, law, technical and scientific, were down 15.1 percent during the month, coming in at $32.0 million.
Year-to-date professional books revenues were $175.2 million, down 6.0 percent as compared to the first five months of 2024.
About the AAP StatShot Reports
The StatShot program provides this statement: “The Association of American Publishers’ StatShot reports the monthly and yearly net revenue of publishing houses from United States sales to bookstores, wholesalers, direct-to-consumer, online retailers, and other channels. StatShot draws revenue data from approximately 1,300 publishers, although participation may fluctuate slightly from report to report.
“StatShot reports are designed to give ongoing revenue snapshots across publishing sectors using the best data currently available. The reports reflect participants’ most recent reported revenue for current and previous periods, enabling readers to compare revenue on both a month-to-month and year-to-year basis within a given StatShot report.
“Monthly and yearly StatShot reports may not align completely across reporting periods, because: (a) the pool of StatShot participants may fluctuate from report to report; and (b) as in any business, it’s common accounting practice for publishing houses to update and restate their previously reported revenue data. If, for example, a business learns that its revenues were greater in a given year than its reports first indicated, it will restate the revenues in subsequent reports to AAP, permitting AAP in turn to report information that is more accurate than previously reported.”
More from Publishing Perspectives on industry statistics is here. More on the Association of American Publishers is here, more of our coverage of AAP StatShot reports is here, and more on the US market is here.