The audiobook market showed a 6% increase in 2006 compared to the previous year with sales now estimated at $923 million, according to an Audio Publishers Association (APA) report by Lewis & Clark Research. The study estimate included sales from non-reporting APA members and other audiobook companies who are not members.

Best-selling audiobook products were most likely to be unabridged, in CD format, book-based, fiction (69%), targeted at adults and sold through retail channels and to libraries. The number of audio downloads continued to increase, representing 14% of sales in 2006 compared to 9% in 2005.

Audiobooks sold through retail channels account for 30% of dollar volume and 10% through downloads. A substantial portion of dollar volume continues to pass through the library channel, this year at 32%.

Thirty APA-member publishers, including Focus on the Family and Oasis Audio, participated in the survey.

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