June 17, 2019
AAP StatShot: Publisher Revenue Increased by 6.7% in First Quarter of 2019
Washington, DC; June 17, 2019 – For the first quarter of 2019, overall participating publisher revenue was $2.5 billion, an increase of $160.8 million (+6.7%) compared to the same period in 2018, according to the Association of American Publishers (AAP) StatShot Monthly report. For March 2019, overall publisher revenue was $733.6 million, an increase of $140.5 million (+23.7%) from the same period in 2018 for all tracked categories (Trade, PreK-12 Instructional Materials, Higher Education Course Materials, Professional Publishing and University Presses.)
Trade Publishing
In the first quarter of 2019, publisher net revenue for trade (consumer) books, including sales to bookstores, wholesalers, direct to consumer, online retailers, etc., was $1.6 billion, an increase of 5.7% from January-March in 2018.
First Quarter 2019 Trade Book Revenue (in millions)
|
|
Jan. – Mar. 2019 |
Jan. – Mar. 2018 |
Percent Change |
|
Adult Fiction/Non-Fiction |
$1008.0 |
$984.2 |
2.4% |
|
Children’s/YA |
$428.0 |
$390.2 |
9.7% |
|
Religious Presses |
$174.5 |
$144.7 |
20.6% |
|
Total Trade |
$1,610.5 |
$1,519.1 |
6.0% |
March 2019 saw strong gains for hardback books, with revenue increasing 17.8% from the prior year to $192.8 million, due to across-the-board increases for the second consecutive month in each of the trade categories. Hardback Adult Books increased 13.9%, hardback Children’s Young/Adult increased 15.6% and hardback books from Religious Presses increased 35.4% compared to March 2018.
Downloaded audio continued its strong growth in the first quarter of 2019, up by 35.3% from the same period in 2018. While eBooks declined 4.5% overall for the first quarter, eBook revenue for Religious Presses increased 8.4% ($1.0 million) for January – March 2019 compared to prior year.
January – March Trade Revenue by Format (in millions)
|
|
Jan. – Mar. 2019 |
Jan.- Mar. 2018 |
Percent Change |
|
Hardback |
$549.6 |
$510.1 |
7.8% |
|
Paperback & Mass Market |
$553.6 |
$536.7 |
3.1% |
|
eBooks |
$244.4 |
$255.9 |
-4.5% |
|
Downloaded Audio |
$133.6 |
$98.7 |
35.3% |
|
Physical Audio |
$7.6 |
$9.2 |
-17.1% |
|
Board Books |
$32.3 |
$28.2 |
14.6% |
|
Other |
$89.2 |
$80.2 |
11.2% |
|
Total Trade |
$1,610.5 |
$1,519.1 |
6.0% |
Education and Scholarly Publishing
Total revenues for participating education and scholarly publishers in March 2019 were $177.8 million. For the first quarter of 2019, total revenues for education and scholarly publishers increased 7.9% compared to the first quarter of 2018, due to increases in both Higher Education course materials (+11.6%) and PreK-12 Instructional Materials (+8.0%).
January – March Education and Scholarly Publishing (in millions)
|
|
Jan. – Mar. 2019 |
Jan. – Mar. 2018 |
Percent Change |
|
Higher Ed Course Materials |
$582.1 |
$521.8 |
11.6% |
|
PreK-12 Instructional Materials |
$232.6 |
$215.4 |
8.0% |
|
Professional Books |
$100.9 |
$109.8 |
-8.1% |
|
University Presses |
$12.0 |
$12.9 |
-7.0% |
|
Total |
$927.6 |
$859.9 |
7.9% |
Publisher net revenue, including sales to bookstores, wholesalers, direct to consumer, online retailers, etc., is tracked monthly by the Association of American Publishers (AAP) and includes revenue from about 1,372 publishers, with participation subject to change over time. The StatShot Annual, Higher Education Annual, and PreK-12 Annual reports for 2017 are available for purchase; additional information about them can be found here.
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 the publication of creative expression, professional content, and learning solutions. 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 aapublishers.mystagingwebsite.com or on twitter at @AmericanPublish