All ears for audiobooks
With print books enjoying a revival, new research shows listening to novels is helping convert non-readers.
At last week’s London Book Fair, publishers from around the world gathered and breathed a sigh of relief. Not only was the industry emerging from a period of financial uncertainty, a whole new audience has just been discovered thanks to audiobooks.
“It was the talk that pretty much dominated the fair,” says Nicki Howard, director of Gill Books. “Much like when ebooks started, it’s not something that can be ignored. And it’s a great way to reach non-typical book buyers or the people who love stories on Netflix but don’t necessarily walk into a bookshop. It’s very exciting.”
In the past few months, reports have shown booksellers, including Dubray Books and Waterstones, are enjoying increases in profits thanks to the resurgence of the printed book. And now research released last week by Nielsen UK Books and Consumers survey shows that audiobook purchases have almost doubled since 2012, accounting for 5pc of consumer book spending in the UK.
“From what we can tell, the picture is pretty much the same in Ireland as in the rest of the British Isles,” explains Fionnuala Barrett, senior audio editor at Harper Collins.
The Nielsen survey also revealed that certain demographics were increasingly drawn to audio, including men aged between 25 and 44, and those living in urban regions. Among the most popular genres identified were sci-fi, fantasy, self-help, history and science.
“I imagine there are some similarities in the UK/Irish audiences,” says Hachette’s audio editorial director Dominic Gribben.
“We assume that the skew towards male listeners, in contrast to female readers, is down to the ‘techie, early adopter’ audience segment which also skews slightly more male than female.”
Either way, the rise in audiobooks means a whole new group of consumers, likely ushered in by the rise in popularity of podcasting.
“Podcasting does seem to have had an influence, particularly in the non-fiction area,” notes Gribben. “Most podcasts are non-fiction and those listeners migrating to unabridged audiobooks may explain why there has been significant growth in sales of non-fiction titles.”
“Podcasts are definitely the Trojan horse here,” notes Barrett. “People get the bug for listening to spoken word in that way. Technology has been key too — instead of having eight cassettes knocking about in the well of your car, they’re all stored on the phone in your pocket.
“It’s definitely been about making reading easy. Time and time again, we hear about the ease and convenience, how audiobooks fit in with the gym, grocery shop or commute.”
Occasionally, going the distance can be a challenge. Statistics from Audiobooks. com last year revealed that many readers don’t reach the end of the audiobook, including titles like War and
Peace (20pc of readers completed) and Swing Time by Zadie Smith (52pc of readers completed). In Ireland, most audiobook sales happen through the Audible subscription service (that doesn’t release data on subscribers), although specialist services like BookBeat or Kobo.com are also gaining ground. Tellingly, Google has entered the audiobook market in the last three months.
While publishers are excited, authors are starting to embrace the audio side of creating fiction, too.
Rubberbandits star Blindboy Boatclub has voiced the audiobook to his debut collection of short stories, and composed original music for it.
Kathleen Watkins, too, voiced her Pigín of Howth book: “Her voice lends itself so well to the story,” observes Howard. “We put music to it too, and that was a lovely experience, as I’m usually used to briefing designers on how a book should look as opposed to sound.”
The growing popularity of audiobooks means that publishers can now access big name actors to provide the voices for titles.
“We had Michael Sheen read (Philip Pullman’s) The
Book of Dust as he was such a huge fan of the book,” says Helena Sheffield of Penguin Random House Audio.
“Benedict Cumberbatch read (Carlo Rovelli’s) The
Order of Time. Obviously if you get a big name, it’s a whole new draw for listeners, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that someone has to be
a celebrity to make an audiobook brilliant. The audiobook for John Boyne’s The Heart’s Invisible Furies was read by Stephen Hogan, and people have completely fallen for his narration.”
Gribben adds: “There has been an increased focus on celebrity titles (either celebrity author or narrator) but these are only a small proportion of the market that will draw in those nonreaders and infrequent readers. These titles tend to sell well, but they aren’t necessarily the top sellers.”
Barrett, too, has noticed that audiobook readers are growing their own separate fanbases.
“Cathleen McCarron, who read (Gail Honeyman’s) Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine, is not a star, but she is a fabulous reader,” she says. “People will follow her from book to book.”
Young adult/fantasy author Dave Rudden loves voicing his own audiobooks and has just finished recording his third novel. He’s particularly enthused about reaching out to visually impaired fans and children with reading difficulties via the new medium.
“My background is teaching and performance, and I write with an eye towards it being read aloud. It helps me figure out the cadence and flow,” he explains.
“The best part of an audiobook is the intimacy between the reader and the writer. You’re hearing it in the way the writer wanted you to experience it. For fans of aural narratives like (podcasts) S-Town or Welcome to Night Vale, audiobooks are perfect,” he adds. “It’s interesting that people are listening to stories instead of albums.”
Novelist Carmel Harrington, already a fan of audiobooks as a consumer, also notes that it’s helpful for her craft.
“I learn about my own writing and I hear the things I need to improve on in my own books,” she says .“I’m a huge fan of them not just for myself but for my kids (Amelia, 6, and Nate, 8).
“Their reading levels are different, but with audiobooks, children can listen above their reading grade. Nate is still on picture books but loves listening to David Walliams. Audiobooks have made him realise that books can be as exciting as movies.” Ciara Doorley, editorial director at Hachette Ireland, also notes that audiobooks can help draw young adult readers. “The audience is younger than traditional audiobook listeners,” she says. “Looking specifically at our own audio publishing, Irish YouTuber Melanie Murphy’s memoir Fully Functioning Human (Almost) — which was read by her — has sold really well in audio format as it appealed perfectly to this market.”
Publishers are confident that the rise and rise of audiobooks could amount to another lucrative revenue stream, not just for voice artists, but authors too.
“People do seem to be excited about the potential,” says Sheffield. “There’s a whole new feeling in the air, that storytelling can be even more intimate and personal than before.”