American Publishers Association (AAP) Reports Revenue for Education and Scholarly Publishers Declined for First Seven Months of 2018 vs. 2017; Trade Press Revenues Up 4.7%

Publishers’ revenue for trade (consumer) books increased by $56.7 million (+11.2%) for July 2018 compared to July 2017 and $174.4 Million (+4.7%) for the first seven months of 2018 (Jan. – July). Publisher revenues in all trade book categories – Adult Books, Children’s/YA and Religious Presses – saw double-digit gains over July 2017.

Outside of trade books, only K-12 Instructional Materials saw publisher revenue growth for July 2018, which was up by +7.7% compared to July 2017. Overall publisher revenue for the year-to-date was down by -1.5% compared to the first seven months of 2017.

These revenues from AAP’s StatShot Monthly Report, which comparatively tracks publisher revenue each month, represent all tracked categories (Trade, PreK-12 Instructional Materials, Higher Education Course Materials, Professional Publishing, and University Presses).

Trade Publishing

Jan. to July: Trade Book Revenue (in millions)

Jan. – July 2018	Jan. – July 2017	Percent Change
Adult Fiction/Non-Fiction	$2,617.4	$2,487.6	+5.2%
Children’s/YA	$996.9	$980.2	+1.7%
Religious Presses	$282.0	$254.1	+11.0%
Total	$3,896.3	$3,721.9	+4.7%

Print books generally saw revenue growth, with a combined $2.85 billion in publisher revenue for the first seven months of 2018 – up by $124.6 million from the same timeframe 2017. Previous trends for digital books continued, with publisher revenue for audiobooks up and eBooks down.

Jan. to July: Total Trade Net Revenue by Format (in millions)

Jan. – July 2018	Jan. – July 2017	Percent Change
Hardback	$1,328.5	$1,238.8	+7.2%
Paperback & Mass Market	$1,460.2	$1,423.0	+2.6%
eBooks	$588.8	$619.6	-5.0%
Downloaded Audio	$253.1	$185.6	+36.4%
Physical Audio	$23.4	$29.2	-19.9%
Board Books	$64.9	$67.2	-3.5%
Other	$177.6	$158.5	+12.0%

Education and Scholarly Publishing

Revenue for education and scholarly publishers declined for the first seven months of 2018 compared to 2017. In July, only PreK-12 had revenue growth for publishers, and was up by $43.4 million (+7.7%).

Jan. to July: Education and Scholarly Publishing (in millions)

Jan. – July 2018	Jan. – July 2017	Percent Change
Higher Ed Course Materials	$1,560.3	$1,703.5	-8.4%
PreK-12 Instructional Materials	$1,629.4	$1,743.4	-6.5%
Professional Books	$529.4	$563.9	-6.1%
University Presses	$29.6	$31.1	-4.9%

Publisher net revenue is tracked monthly by the Association of American Publishers (AAP) and includes revenue from about 1,100 publishers, with participation subject to change over time.

See Also: NPD Group (NPD Bookscan) Reports Print Book Sales Rose 2 Percent in the First Half of 2018

See Also: Association of American Publishers (AAP) Reports Publisher Revenue for Consumer Books Up 3.6% First Half of 2018; 3.4% Increase in eBook Revenue for University Presses