You might remember back in January that we were soliciting data from publishers so we could compile The State of Digital Publishing in Canada 2016. Well we got the data and we're back to show it to you!
The current state of digital publishing in Canada
The State of Digital Publishing in Canada reports are now in their fourth year. Each year we look at the size, scope, and production processes of the digital publishing market in Canada.
Here are some highlights. (If you're unable to read the image below, please scroll down to the end of the post where we've pulled out the data presented in it.)
Ebook sales vs. print in Canada
As true this year as it was last year, people are still talking about print book sales being up at the expense of ebooks. The stories this year have tended to focus less on the increased pricing of ebooks, as was the case last year, and more on readers rediscovering the tactile experience of print books and digital fatigue.
While it is true that the number of available ebooks with sales continues to decline — from a high of 88% in 2014 to just 54% in 2016 — some of this might be due to the growing number of digitized backlist titles. It might also be caused in part by a 2.1% decline in ebook sales from 2015 to 2016, according to consumer surveying.
However, while the number of ebooks without sales went up, so too did revenue for 61% of reporting firms: 25% of them experienced a digital revenue increase of more than 25% over the previous year.
Audiobooks in Canada
While the print versus digital debate continues, what has become clear is that audiobooks are having their moment. In 2016, 37% of the publishers we surveyed were producing digital audiobooks, which is a large jump from 16% in 2015. And those firms have anywhere from zero to 7,000 active audiobook titles.
All these insights and so many more can be found in the free report, The State of Digital Publishing in Canada 2016. Download your PDF copy of the report and start pulling stats, insight, and knowledge from it right away. You can't beat the price!
If you're unable to read the infographic image, here are the stats:
37% of publishers produce digital audiobooks
56% of publishers have more than 1/2 of their titles digitized
52% of publishers have over 1/2 of their juvenile titles digitized
67% of publishers are including accessibility features in their ebooks
When do publishers release ebooks for new titles?
5% do so before the print version
68% do so simultaneously with the print version
27% do so after the print version
What are publishers' reasons for creating ebooks?
80% hope to increase sales
73% want to meet accessibility needs
73% are satisfying consumer demand
