November 21, 2019
ASSOCIATION OF AMERICAN PUBLISHERS RELEASES SEPTEMBER 2019 STATSHOT REPORT
Total Sales Up 4.0% Year to Date
Washington, DC, November 21, 2019 – The Association of American Publishers (AAP) today released its September 2019 StatShot reflecting reported revenue for all tracked categories, including Trade (consumer publications), K-12 Instructional Materials, Higher Education Course Materials, Professional Publishing and University Presses.
Overall publisher revenue for the month was $1.54 billion, an increase of 8.4% as compared to September of 2018. Total sales in 2019 so far were $11.4 billion, an increase of 4.0% over the same period last year.
Trade Categories
- The Children and Young Adult category reached $243.4 million in revenues, an increase of 3.5% over the same month last year.
- Adult books were $479.3 million, an increase of 3.5% compared to September 2018.
|
Sept. 2019 |
Sept. 2018 |
Percent Change |
|
| Adult Fiction/Non-Fiction |
$479.3 |
$463.1 |
3.5% |
| Children’s/YA |
$243.4 |
$235.2 |
3.5% |
| Religious Presses |
$59.4 |
$61.3 |
-3.0% |
| Total Trade |
$782.2 |
$759.5 |
3.0% |
Trade Formats
- Paper formats once again dominated Trade, accounting for $588.1 million, or 75.2% of the category’s $782.2 million in revenue for the month of September.
- Among Paper formats, paperback books saw the most growth, climbing 9.1% compared to the same month last year.
- Downloaded Audio increased 24.3% over the same month in 2018, coming in at $52.0 million for the month. The Downloaded Audio category has seen consistent growth every month since AAP began tracking it in 2012.
- eBook revenues decreased by 1.3% as compared to September 2018, coming in at $82.5 million.
Trade Revenues By Format
(in millions)
|
Sept. 2019 |
Sept. 2018 |
Percent Change |
|
| Hardback |
$335.5 |
$344.3 |
-2.6% |
| Paperback |
$221.5 |
$203.0 |
9.1% |
| Mass Market |
$14.9 |
$18.0 |
-17.4% |
| Board Books |
$16.3 |
$18.4 |
-11.4% |
| eBooks |
$82.5 |
$83.6 |
-1.3% |
| Downloaded Audio |
$52.0 |
$41.8 |
24.3% |
| Physical Audio |
$3.6 |
$3.9 |
-5.6% |
| Other |
$55.9 |
$46.5 |
20.2% |
| Total |
$782.2 |
$759.5 |
3.0% |
Educational Materials
- Pre-K-12 Instructional Materials stood out during the month, coming in at $267.2 million, an increase of 31.7% compared to the same period last year. September 2019 marked the seventh consecutive month that participating publishers have reported growth in the category.
- Higher Ed Course Materials revenues were $437.4 million, an increase of 5.9% over the same period last year.
Overall Publisher Revenue
- Overall publisher revenue for the month was $1.54 billion, an increase of 8.4% as compared to September of 2018.
|
Total Sales |
Sept. 2019 |
Sept. 2018 |
Percent Change |
|
Adult Books |
$479.3 |
$463.1 |
3.5% |
|
Childrens & Young Adult Books |
$243.4 |
$235.2 |
3.5% |
|
Religious Presses |
$59.4 |
$61.3 |
-3.0% |
|
Professional Books |
$44.7 |
$36.4 |
22.7% |
|
K-12 Instructional Materials |
$267.2 |
$203.0 |
31.7% |
|
Higher Educational Course Materials |
$437.4 |
$413.1 |
5.9% |
|
University Presses |
$4.3 |
$4.3 |
-0.5% |
|
All Other |
$3.5 |
$4.0 |
-11.2% |
|
Total |
$1,539.3 |
$1,420.3 |
8.4% |
Professional Publishing
- Professional Publishing, including Business, Medical and Law, Technical and Scientific, increased 22.7% during the period, reaching $44.7 million for the month.
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AAP’s StatShot
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 1,360 publishers, with participation subject to change over time.
The StatShot Annual, Higher Education Annual, and K-12 Annual reports for calendar year 2018 are available for purchase at https://publishers.org/statistics. For additional information about these reports, email Syreeta Swann at info@publishers.org.
StatShot reports are designed to give an up-to-date snapshot of the publishing industry 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 a year-to-year basis within a given StatShot report.
It is not, however, possible to make apples-to-apples comparisons to StatShot reports issued in previous years because: a) The number of StatShot participants fluctuates over time, with the pool of participants growing or shrinking in each report and b) It is a common accounting practices for businesses, including publishers, to restate revenue numbers based on updated information. If, for example, a business learns that its revenues were greater in a given year than its reports indicated, it will restate the revenues in subsequent reports, providing information that is more up-to-date and accurate.
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 publishers.org or on twitter at @AmericanPublish.