Audiobook publishers and Audible are actively promoting the expansion of audiobooks within the United Kingdom.
Audiobooks Struggle to Keep Pace with E-books in the UK
The booming audiobook market in the UK has been on a stellar rise over the past five years, yet consumer interest lags significantly behind that of e-books. According to Laurence Howell, senior director at Audible UK, "There's still a massive shortage of audiobooks compared to demand. Thousands of titles are yet to be converted into audio format, and some genres are underrepresented."
2016 saw audiobooks become one of the biggest publishing success stories. With over 250,000 titles on its UK site, Audible is attracting more younger listeners, as stated by Howell.
Young professionals and students are heavy buyers of audio content, and this demographic is expected to grow further. Plus, 45% of fans have increased the amount they listen to, and 39% have increased the titles they read in print and e-book formats, driving growth in other parts of the industry, says Howell.
In 2015, the UK audiobook market saw a 30% increase, skyrocketing a whopping 170% over the past five years. The entire market is currently estimated to be around £91 million. However, due to Amazon-owned Audible's reticence to release sales data, assessing the impact of their contribution on the overall growth of the market remains challenging.
The US audiobook market dwarfs the UK market, reaching $1.77bn in 2015, nearly double its worth in 2011. Here, the majority of the market consists of digital audiobooks, with unabridged stories accounting for 96% of the total.
To fuel the growth of the UK audiobook market, Audible is battling against cultural indifference towards the digital format. A recent YouGov poll revealed that 55% of people view listening to a book as inferior to reading it, while only 10% consider it equal.
To become culturally accepted, audiobooks need several changes. Firstly, publishers and Audible must launch an advertising campaign, and secondly, prices need to decrease – audiobooks are currently more expensive than hardcovers.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at our platform, specializing in audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. His articles have appeared in multiple notable publications such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post, and the New York Times.
Historical preference for e-books, insufficient awareness and accessibility, pricing differences, content variety, and technological and behavioral factors might be the main contributors to the relatively lower adoption of audiobooks in the UK compared to e-books. Nonetheless, the market is evolving rapidly, with new technologies and trends destined to shift consumer behavior over time.
- Michael Kozlowski, an expert on audiobooks and e-readers, notes that factors such as historical preference, insufficient awareness, pricing differences, content variety, and technological and behavioral factors might be hindering the rapid adoption of audiobooks in the UK compared to e-books, despite the growth in the audiobook market.
- In the future, as technology advances and trends shift, lifestyle preferences might favor the integration of e-readers and audiobooks for entertainment, potentially closing the gap between the two markets.
