The AAP released their separate set of annual “estimates” — StatShot Annual — on Friday, which we note for those who find these reports useful. As usual, we provide you with our standing reminder that, in contrast to the AAP’s monthly reports, these “estimates” are the product of taking real data and then multiplying it by a factor of over 2x for the trade in an attempt to account for the parts of the publishing industry that never report their numbers. The methodology has never stood up to scrutiny or verification, so we find the estimates of little value. But […]
Industry Statistics
Trade Shipments Fell Further In May
The AAP’s May StatShot report shows a deepening of the same trends observed in April: revenues from shipments of trade books to accounts were down substantially, due to store closures and postponed releases, as lower returns due to the same factors mitigated some of the “net” sales tabulations for the month. Shipments of trade books comprised $668 million for the month, down 16 percent from a year ago, or $127 million lower. (In contrast, net sales of $577 million were 9.3 percent lower than a year ago.) The declines were deeper than in April, as adult grosses fell 17.5 percent, […]
AAP April Report Shows Lower Trade Shipments and Returns, Only Modest eBook Sales Rise
The AAP’s monthly StatShot report for April provides some of the first concrete evidence of the effect of COVID-19 shutdowns on book publishing dollar sales. Note that as usual it reflects data reported from the major mainstream trade publishers, and therefore does not show some of sales boon in products like educational workbooks from some independent publishers. Instead of focusing on the usual “net” sales numbers, though, this time the real indicators are in publishers’ gross shipments to accounts, and the returns processed. Shipments were down markedly, as you would expect, and returns were far lower than usual. Adult trade […]
Deal Volume Holds, As Investment Declines
A month ago we showed that April dealmaking volume in the US was relatively strong, following a big dropoff in the second half of March. The total number of reported six-figure deals was relatively strong as well looking at March and April combined, running only 4 deals (or 4.6 percent) below the average from the previous four years. The biggest change was a sharp decline in the biggest, or major, deals. May statistics tell a similar story, though with more erosion across all six-figure or better deals. Total US deal volume was stable, down 2 percent compared to May 2019, […]
AAP Stats Shows Reasonable March Results, As Both Shipments and Returns Declined
The AAP released its Stat Shot statistics for March, showing relatively strong sales in the last days before the widespread onset of physical lockdowns. Overall trade sales were $511.7 million, up from $495.3 million last March — and exceeding the five-year average of $484.1 million. Adult print sales were $235.1 million, up from $223.5 last March (reported as $218.8 million at the time). Children’s print sales were $140.3 million, near flat from $139.2 million last March (reported as $133.6 million at the time). The hint of things to come is in the details. Revenues from shipments of adult books to […]
AAP February Stat Shot Recalls Better Days Before the Lockdown
The AAP’s February Stat Shot report, from 1,361 publishers, reminds us that trade publishers were having a good start to the year before the pandemic changed everything. Trade sales were $478.7 million in February, up from $454.5 million, with increases in both adult and children’s shipments, buoyed by adult hardback sales (which have been in notable decline while physical store are closed). In February, adult print sales registered to $209.8 million, up $17.5 million from a year ago. Children’s print sales were modestly higher, at $121.6 million, up $5.8 million. Previous trends continued in digital, with audio continuing to grow […]