August 22, 2024 (press release) –
Today the Association of American Publishers (AAP) released StatShot Annual for calendar year 2023, estimating that the U.S. publishing industry generated a healthy $29.9 billion in aggregate publishing revenue for books and course materials across print and digital formats. The result is a minor 0.8% decline when compared to final stated numbers for 2022. It is a 6.1% increase over the pre-pandemic figure of $28.2 billion total recorded in 2019.
“This year’s report captures an industry that is both resilient and forward-thinking about how people read, enjoy, and learn from works of authorship,” commented Syreeta Swann, Chief Operating Officer, Association of American Publishers. “In addition to the strong numbers for 2023, the report shows positive trends over a five-year period across multiple categories, formats, and channels.”
2023 StatShot Annual Report Highlights:
Estimated Industry Revenue
- Trade (consumer books), the industry’s largest category, decreased by 1.4% to an estimated $18.7 billion.
- Higher Education revenue increased by 1.5% to $3.9 billion.
- PreK-12 Education increased 0.3% to $5.2 billion.
- Professional Books increased 1.5% to $1.7 billion.
- Religious Presses, a subcategory of Trade, increased 6.7% to $1.5 billion.
- University Presses decreased 9.8% to $0.6 billion.
In the industry overall, print formats (Paperbacks, Hardbacks, Mass Market, and Special Bindings) accounted for 55% of all revenue for 2023, a decrease of 2% on a year-over-year basis.
Within Trade, print formats accounted for 72% of all revenue for 2023, representing a decrease of 0.8% on a year-over-year basis.
Digital
In the industry overall, digital formats (Digital Audio and eBooks) accounted for 16% of all revenue for 2023, representing an increase of 6.3% on a year-over-year basis.
Within Trade, digital formats accounted for 23% of all revenue for 2023, representing an increase of 9.4% on a year-over-year basis.
Channels
A variety of channels are used within the industry, with publisher sales via Online Retail comprising the largest category. Within Online Retail, 54% of total sales were from print formats during the year under review, and 14% of total sales were from digital formats.
Methodology
The Calendar Year 2023 StatShot Annual report is the independent work of Industry Insights, Inc., an expert research and data analytics firm. The report offers a valuable financial overview of the book publishing industry by reporting estimated and aggregate revenue and reported unit sales.
During the project, Industry Insights analyzed a wide range of data sources, including U.S. Census data, direct survey responses, AAP’s historical StatShot survey data and reports, Bowker’s Books In Print dataset, Circana’s BookScan tools, self-publishing and digital publishing trends, government economic data, and various publicly available articles and information sources related to the U.S. publishing industry and individual publishers.
Based on this analysis, Industry Insights has calculated that previous industry estimates were understated. Consequently, Industry Insights recalculated the industry estimates, resulting in higher figures for each year, except for 2021. The results of the Industry Estimate are accurate at a 95% confidence level, with a margin of error ranging from plus or minus 6 to 10 percentage points.
About AAP
AAP | The Association of American Publishers represents the leading book, journal, and education publishers in the United States on matters of law and policy, advocating for outcomes that incentivize and protect works of authorship and the creative, intellectual, and financial investments that make them possible. As essential participants in local markets and the global economy, our members invest in and inspire the exchange of ideas, transforming the world we live in one word at a time. Find us online at www.publishers.org or on Twitter and Instagram at @AmericanPublish.
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