Are You Listening?

Since moving to NY, NJ technically, I have had to deal with the issue of what to do during the train rides to and from the city. It’s a 40 minute ride, most of time longer, if you miss a train or it goes slower than normal. My saving grace for a while at least came in the form of an audio book, which I received from the BEA – you know – the Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan. It’s the signed copy that I talked about obtaining in embarrassment in an earlier post.

It has been my lifesaver… at least it was until my computer broke and had to be sent off for repairs. You see, having no music device such as an iPod, I’ve had to get a little creative. Since the audio book allows me transfer the MP3 files to my phone, I was using these files for my listening pleasure on the trains.

My point, I’ve learned that I like audio books. They actually have a purpose; previously I thought – maybe not. This one experience has made me consider that perhaps I should invest in others. For my travel anyway. My motion sickness won’t allow much else.

Because of this new consideration and my general lack of knowledge about the popularity of this product, I decided to do some research.

I was very interested to know that the Audio Publishers Association (APA) states that “the audiobook customer is a frequent book reader who sees audiobooks as a way to "read" more while pursuing other lifestyle activities.” That kinda sounds like me. They go on to say that, the average customer is 30+, well educated, with a higher income compared with non-listeners. Well – ok that’s not me. Not yet anyway. The APA also states that audiobooks are mainly used while travelling. Hmm. I somewhat knew that – but only because I discovered it for myself through my train experience. Audiobooks are in need of marketing a little yes?

My general sense is that audioooks are simply not marketed at all except by the companies that  make only audiobooks. I know there are plenty of publishers who have their toes in the water with this one, but with the future of print in question and the onslaught of e-books, I’m surprised that more aren’t doing ... well … more to promote what is already at hand. I couldn’t find hard numbers but my research seems to suggest a growing popularity of this market, much like e-books. However, since it’s been around longer the percentage of market share is higher than that of e-books. Once again, I have no hard numbers to back this up. It’s pure conjecture because I can’t actually afford to pay for the market research on this particular topic.

Anyway, I guess I’ll end this post with other fun facts on audiobooks: Unabridged is more popular than bridged. YA is the fastest-growing segment of the market. Fiction is greater than Non fiction.

I could throw some actual numbers at you but that could be boring. I’ve listed my research sites; go check it out if you’re interested.

http://www.audiopub.org/faq.asp
http://www.audiopub.org/2009SalesSurveyRelease.pdf