Winter in Coconut Grove, Miami. Image – Getty: Felix Miziozikov
By Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief | @Porter_Anderson
Trade Revenues Down 0.3 Percent
In its November 2024 StatShot report released this morning (March 27, the Association of American Publishers (AAP) cites total revenues across all categories down 0.7 percent in January 2025.Trade (consumer book) revenues were down 0.3 percent for the month of January.
As Publishing Perspectives readers know, the AAP’s numbers reflect reported revenue for tracked categories including trade (consumer books); religious presses; higher education course materials; and professional publishing.
Image: Association of American Publishers
Trade Revenues
Year-Over-Year Numbers
Trade (Consumer Books) revenues were down 0.3 percent in January at $741.5 million.
In print formats:
- Hardback revenues were up 0.1 percent, coming in at $267.5 million
- Paperbacks were down 4.3 percent, with $254.6 million in revenue
- Mass market was down 16.7 percent to $11.2 million
- Special bindings were up 18.8 percent, with $19.9 million in revenue
In digital formats:
- Ebook revenues were up 0.9 percent for the month as compared to January 2024 for a total of $78.5 million
- The avidly watched digital audio format was up 6.1 percent for January, coming in at $85.1 million in revenue
- Physical audio was down 2.5 percent, coming in at $600,000.
Religious Press Performance
Religious press revenues were up 7.1 percent in January, coming in at $80.9 million.
- Hardback revenues were up 9.4 percent to $48.7 million in revenue
- Paperback revenues were flat at $17.8 million
- Ebook revenues were down 25.2 percent, coming in at $3.9 million.
Higher Education
During January 2025, revenues from Higher Education Course Materials were $388.3 million, down 1.7 percent compared with January 2024.
Professional Books
Professional Books, including business, medical, law, technical and scientific, were down 8.5 percent during the month, coming in at $33.1 million.
About the AAP StatShot Reports
The StatShot program provides this statement: “AAP StatShot reports the monthly and yearly net revenue of publishing houses from U.S. sales to bookstores, wholesalers, direct to consumer, online retailers, and other channels. StatShot draws revenue data from approximately 1,280 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) Like any business, it is 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.