More signs that the Rise of Audio is on its way. Canada’s Booknet Press posted some interesting stats and trends. From the article:

More than half, or 61%, of Canadian publishers are now producing digital audiobooks, which is up from 37% in 2016, according to a new report from BookNet Canada. Increasing production may be related to the confidence felt by firms, with 73% believing audiobook sales will increase in the coming year.

Publishers across Canada were surveyed in early 2018 for the fifth annual The State of Digital Publishing in Canada 2017 report, which tracks trends in the country’s digital publishing landscape. Respondents ranged from large multinationals and Canadian-owned firms to smaller, niche publishers, all of whom answered questions about ebook sales, use of accessibility features, digital revenue, and more.

Among the other highlights of the report was a drop in the percentage of ebooks available in the market that went unsold. Though methodology changed slightly between 2016 and 2017, the survey found that 30% of ebooks had no sales in 2017, versus 46% in 2016. Meanwhile, 69% of publishers reported that their year-over-year digital sales were either growing slowly or staying flat. According to BookNet’s quarterly consumer surveying, unit sales of ebooks have fluctuated over the past three years, accounting for 19% of book purchases in 2015, 16.9% in 2016, and 18.6% in 2017.

Time to pull out the microphone and get in on the act, if you haven’t already!