The sound of success: The British’s newfound love for audiobooks led to record sales at Audible last year
The British’s newfound love for audiobooks led to record sales at Audible last year.
Revenue for the Amazon-owned UK division of the podcast, drama and audiobook business rose 6 percent to £226 million, attracting new listeners.
Audiobooks, which are often more expensive than traditional paper books, have been a huge hit during the Covid lockdowns as readers spend more time at home.
But unlike many pandemic trends, it hasn’t faded yet.
Audible offers monthly subscriptions for customers, as well as single book sales.
Good investment: Audible offers monthly subscriptions for customers, as well as single book sales
But while sales rose, the company’s profits fell from £19.4 million to £14.8 million last year as it invested in new content, according to accounts filed with Companies House.
Audible produces its own podcasts and original series hosted by former First Lady Michelle Obama, actors Daisy May Cooper and Stephen Fry.
Last year it launched series of TV host Graham Norton’s podcast, The Graham Norton Book Club, and Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders’ show T*tting About.
Founded in New Jersey in 1997, Audible was acquired by Amazon in 2008 in a deal worth around £250 million.
Britons bought about 27 million audiobooks last year, according to industry tracker Nielsen BookData. Self-help and science fiction titles were especially popular.
Growth has slowed after the pandemic, but audiobook sales last year were still about 50 percent higher than in 2018.