Ahead of the Frankfurt Book Fair next week, it’s time for our annual look at pre-fair dealmaking trends. As usual, this version covers domestic (US) deal reports for September 1 through September 30, and we’ll append a short update next week to factor in October 1 through October 7. A year ago deal volume was up considerably over prior years, but that has leveled off and this September is in line with 2013, up by less 2 percent: We reported 603 US deals during the month, compared to 593 deals the same month a year ago. US September Deal Volume […]
Industry Statistics
Trade Stays Flat As Children’s Sales Remain Strong
The AAP released monthly sales statistics for both April and May, confirming a trend of flat overall trade sales propped up by a few children’s/YA market hits. Total trade sales for $491 million in April (up $4 million from a year ago) and $525 million in May (up $2 million). In March sales were down $1 million, after a strong January and February. Of slight additional concern is that sales were flat even with the influx of millions of dollars in use-it-or-lose-it credits from the publisher ebook legal settlements. Those credits landed in customer accounts at the end of March, […]
Batman Beats Back Kindle Unlimited
Yes, you read that correctly. For the first day since we starting monitoring the effect on Kindle Unlimited titles on Amazon Kindle’s So-Called Bestseller List, the number of KU titles on the top 100 declined modestly, now accounting for 38 titles. But Batman related books have stormed the list, taking over 10 slots, including the No. 1 position. (Wednesday was celebrated as the 75th anniversary of Batman’s creation.) KU books still claim half of the top 50 titles, though (25 today, versus 24 yesterday), and Amazon Publishing’s own titles still show the biggest boost. The traditional publisher titles included in KU […]
Roth and Green Drive Trade Sales Growth In First Quarter
The AAP has released sales statistics for both February and March 2014, showing overall trade sales of $1.414 billion, rising 7 percent compared to a year ago, up $92 million. All of the market growth and then some (another $6.5 million to be exact) is due to children’s/YA books, thanks to robust sales for both Veronica Roth and John Green. (As usual, AAP data is based on the roughly 1,200 publishers that report their sales to the organization.) In formats, hardcover sales rose the most during the first quarter, up 13 percent. Adult ebooks were down slightly, by $2 million, […]
BookStats Show eBook Unit Sales Rose, Even As Revenue Fell
Almost 3 months ago we had the annual industry statistics from the AAP for 2013, providing the basic narrative for book publisher revenue last year: Actual measured trade sales were $6.44 billion, down by 1 percent from the banner 2012, driven by a strong finish in November and December. Trade ebook sales declined for the first time ever — marginally, down $15 million, to $1.471 billion — and ebooks comprised 21 percent of all trade sales, still ranking as the third-largest format behind hardcovers and trade paperbacks. On Thursday, the separate joint BookStats project from the AAP and the BISG […]
Divergent Leads Trade to Strong January
Trade sales as reported to the AAP by approximately 1,200 publishers were solid in January 2014, driven by strong sales of Veronica Roth’s Divergent trilogy and steady performance across the board. Total trade sales of $506 million were up 12 percent (or $54 million) compared to the same month a year ago. Most of that gain came from surging children’s/YA sales, up $44 million in January compared to a year ago, at $144 million. Adult sales rose $10 million, at $362 million. Total ebook sales for January were $137 million, up $15.5 million or 12 percent — exactly in line […]