This follows on from my previous post
Sales of Audiobooks have grown in the past decade thanks to smartphones and the rise of streaming services. It has become easier for consumers to download and listen to their favourite titles while our hands and eyes stay busy; the list is endless - commuting, exercising, or performing household chores, driving, cooking, *walking the dog,* folding laundry. Audiobooks are particularly popular among busy professionals and students.
Narration quality, sound engineering, and post-production editing are critical components that can boost or ruin an audiobook’s success, so publishers are increasingly collaborating with professional narrators and sound engineers to produce high-quality audiobooks.
Audiobooks cost more to buy, cost more to produce and earn more money per sale. Audio is growing faster than eBooks have in years. The global audiobook market sits around $13.8 billion in 2026. Analysts expect it to climb past $70 billion by 2033.
Listeners want to absorb ideas while multitasking, and that habit sticks. Younger readers, especially Gen Z and Millennials, reach for audio first, which tells you where reading habits head over the next decade.
eBooks move more units today (in 2026), but audiobooks are gathering readers faster than any other format in publishing. Betting everything on one format because it is "winning" right now is a decision authors may well regret within two years. But few independent authors may be able or willing to pay for the expertise needed to produce a quality product.
*I wish they wouldn’t use their phones while walking the dog. Their attention is not on the dog or their surroundings and that can be dangerous for them both.
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