If according to Istat in 2022 just under 40% of Italians have read a book for pleasuretoday some encouraging data comes from the food sector audiobooks, continually expanding: in the last 12 months, says research NielsenIQ for Audible (Amazon company among the major players of the so-called audio entertainment) presented on Tuesday 23 April, are 11.1 million Italians (around 19%) have listened to at least onewith a growth of 4% compared to the previous year.
A new cultural phenomenon
A trend that, after the boom of the pandemic, has not stopped: from 2020 to today, people who listen to books in audio have increased increased by 22%. 31% of those interviewed hear at least one a week (e.g 5% almost every day, theheavy user», especially in the 25-34 age group, and mostly coming from Southern Italy). The average per listener is approx two sessions per month«and the thing that struck us – he tells al Courier Matthew GainSenior vice president and head of Europe at Audible – is the increase in the average time of listening per session which is almost half an hour, a sign that audiobooks are increasingly present in the media diet of Italians. Furthermore, today 39% of participants consider audiobooks a valuable topic for starting conversations and a way to break the ice: audiobooks are starting to become a topic of conversation like books, films and TV series.” A cultural phenomenon.
What, where and how
For the first time the Thriller genre has surpassed the Classics (32% to 28%) in listening preferences in Italy. It is mainly listened to at home (7 out of 10) or during travel (almost one in two), for entertain yourself while doing other things (57%), fight the «screen fatigue» (53%) and the boredom (51%). But one of the most interesting data concerns the relationship between books and audiobooks, which are increasingly complementary: almost one in two Italians has listened to a book they have already read, and the same thing is true in reverse. Experiences that enrich each other, for different moments of the day (and perhaps of life).
Book and audiobook complement each other
For Juan Baixeras, Country Manager for Spain and Italy at Audible, «the industry that we helped to create has consolidated: eight years ago we started in Italy with 1,500 titles, now we have 16 thousand, and we add about 2 thousand more every year. Much is due to work done together with publishing houses: agreements with third parties today make up 57% of our catalogue, while 43% are our own productions. Now here too, as in the United States and Germany, simultaneous publication of book and audiobook is becoming the norm».
We are not at the peak
According to Matthew Gain «nothing suggests that we are already at the peak: let’s continue to see incredibly strong growth throughout Europe and also in Italy”. So there is room both to introduce those who have never yet launched themselves to the audiobook experience, and (for Audible) to make themselves known: Baixeras announces that he will soon “start a TV campaign with Roberto Saviano» and, within a collective work that focuses heavily on digital marketing, the company wants «grow the catalog not only on the frontlistthat is, the bestsellers that are in bookstores today, but also on the backlistthat is, the previous, perhaps more sophisticated, to ensure that our subscribers always find everything they are looking for”.
Investments in Italy
While «on the market of podcasts – admits Baixeras – it’s still being done struggling to monetize, because there is so much free offering, while we focus on premium content”, that of audiobooks “has never gone through the free phase”, and this has certainly been an advantage for the entire industry. Audible continues to support itself on a business model based on the subscription (9.99 euros per month) with which you can access 82 thousand audio products, including podcasts, mostly exclusive: in 2023 alone the company invested 5.5 million euros in Italian-language contentof which 1.4 million to produce original podcasts.
Two new features
At the Turin Book Fair, Baixeras anticipates, two novelties will be presented: «For the first time, on the 18th anniversary of the release, we will finally have Gomorrah in audioand we will also add all of them to our catalogue the Lord of the Rings saga”. Which aims to compete internally with the most listened to audiobook for years on Audible, that is Harry Potterfollowed this year by a new entry: «La portalettere» by Francesca Giannone.
The most listened to audiobooks
Below is the ranking of the 10 most listened to audiobooks on Audible.it from March 2023 to March 2024:
- Harry Potter: The Complete Saga, JK Rowling, read by Francesco Pannofino
- The postmanFrancesca Giannone, read by Sonia Barbadoro
- The Count of Monte Cristo – Full version, Alexandre Dumas, read by Moro Silo
- The weapons of lightKen Follett, read by Riccardo Mei
- The Pillars of the EarthKen Follett, read by Riccardo Mei
- Something wonderful always happensGianluca Gotto, read by Gianluca Gotto
- Restless bloodRobert Galbraith, read by Andrea Mete
- DunesFrank P. Herbert, read by Alessandro Parise
- The winter of the LionsStefania Auci, read by Ninni Bruschetta
- Murder out of seasonArwin J. Seaman, read by Gabriele Donolato
){kind=link}