The rights marketplace has certainly seen 2015 begin with a bang and nowhere more so than through the glut of audiobook licensing deals being completed.
Anecdotal evidence suggests that the audio book industry is currently worth somewhere in the region of $2.4bn to $2.6bn per year and growing. A recent New York Times article suggests that the first eight months of sales in 2014 saw an increase of 28%.
IPR License, an online platform for acquiring subsidiary rights that I am the managing director of, saw consistent, and substantial, demand for audiobook rights throughout 2014.This worked to create even more conversations with a number of domestic and international audiobook publishers and distributors to open up additional channels for our members to transact even more business in this field. One independent publisher who hadn’t previously completed an audio deal completed six audio deals over four months via the platform.
Germany continues to dominate the audiobook market, with the U.S., and to a lesser extent the UK also major players. It’s been widely reported that around 7 percent of the German population has purchased at least one audiobook, an astounding figure for a sector in the publishing industry which receives such a relatively small amount of attention.
Of course the most dominant content distribution platform and highest market penetration for audiobooks is currently the Amazon-owned Audible. Increasing numbers of competitors will emerge as the market continues to grow, which can only be a good thing, but it’s clear that Audible’s growing international presence will make it a tough act to complete with. Growth in territories outside of Germany, the U.S., and the U.K. will be interesting follow closely, especially if Audible continues to spread its wings.
The audiobook market has come a long way in a relatively short space of time. And as a result the subsequent growing importance attached to maximizing rights and licensing revenue certainly shouldn’t be underestimated by publishers of all shapes and sizes whatever the territory.
Tom Chalmers is the managing director of IPR License.
