Audio books Consumer Use

• Of the main audiobook listeners surveyed, 76% are female and 24% are

male. The average listening age for females is 45 and the average

listening age for males is 47. (Audio Publishers 2001 Consumer Survey)

• Roughly one is five American households listened to an audiobook within

the last year—23 million households. (Audio Publishers 2001 Consumer

Survey)

• The average audiobook listener earns 25% than non-listeners, has a

higher level of education and is more likely to hold a professional and

3 managerial position than a non-listener. (Audio Publishers 2001

Consumer Survey)

• Americans make 51.3 billion trips to and from work in their own vehicles

every year.” (“Commuter Consumer,” The Washington Post, April 24,

2005)

• One factor driving sales is, literally, driving. “The number-one place people

listen is in their cars,” says Mary Beth Roche, publisher at Audio

Renaissance. As commuter times lengthen, she says, avid readers are

driven to books that let them keep their eyes on the road. (“Now Hear

This,” American Way, May 15, 2005)

• The Cracker Barrel Old Country Store restaurants have developed a

successful program that lets travelers buy an audiobook at any of their

519 locations in 41 states. It can be returned at any of their other stores

and restaurants, minus a weekly fee of less than $4. (“Audiobooks Ease

Time on Road,” Courier Journal, June 26, 2005)

• “The best patrons are the best book-buyers. They’re avid readers who use

audiobooks to keep up when their eyes are busy,” says Mary Beth Roche,

president of the Audio Publishers Association. (“Commuter Consumer,”

The Washington Post, April 24, 2005)

• “A trucker working to the legal limit in the U.S. can rack up to 3,432 driving

hours a year—nearly 10 times that of the average New York commuter—

or enough to listen to the unabridged version of Bill Clinton’s My Life 77

times. (Publishing Trends, Market Partners International, September

2005)

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 According to the 2002 eBrain Market Research survey, 71% of

respondents listen to audiobooks on long car trips. (Audio Books

Ownership and Market Potential, Consumer Electronics Association)

• The average annual delay due to traffic congestion has more than tripled

since 1982.

o More than 19 million commuters travel more than 45 minutes each

way to their jobs;

o More than 97 million workers drive alone to work each day;

o The average rush hour driver will spend an additional 62 hours

stuck in traffic—at standstill—each year. (Texas Transportation

Institute 1002 Urban Mobility Study)

• Twenty-eight percent of listeners rank Mystery/Horror/Suspense as their

favorite audiobook genre. (Audio Publishers 2001 Consumer Survey)

* taken from the APA fact shit

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Audio books education

Audio books marketing and production

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