Audible's Revenue is Skyrocketing in 2022

Ariel Ariel
8/19/22

This is a single insight from This Week in Apps #127 - It's (Almost) All About the Money. Check out the full article for more insights.


Are you an e-reader or a physical book kind of person? I'm the latter. There's something about paper that makes it easier for me to read. But!

There's a category of books that's neither paper nor e-ink that's been growing like wildfire this year.

Audiobooks!

Audible revenue on the App Store

Audible, the most popular app for audiobooks these days, has seen demand go through the roof over the last few years, but 2022, in particular, has been extra growy.

In January of 2020, just a couple of years ago, Audible's in-app net revenue from the App Store was estimated at $417K. That's after Apple takes its fee, and I'm only looking at Apple because Audible's revenue on Android didn't exist until earlier this year.

Heading into the pandemic, our estimates show net revenue was already at $3 million by January of 2021, and by January of 2022, it ballooned to $14 million. No, that 1 isn't a typo!

And that's not the end. Audible's App Store peaked in May, hitting $17.5 million.

Growth reversed course and revenue dropped a bit as the economy shifted into rough waters, but June and July both ended with more than $15 million in net revenue.

A lot of "physical" things are moving into our phones. Streaming. Shopping. Fitness. And books joining the list makes perfect sense. That + the overall growth in money spent in the App Store + Audible's unique positioning, and lack of competitors allowed it to grow 3,948% in two and a half years.

App Intelligence for Everyone!

The insights in this report come right out of our App Intelligence platform, which offers access to download and revenue estimates, installed SDKs, and more! Learn more about the tools or schedule a demo with our team to get started.

Are you a Journalist? You can get access to our app and market intelligence for free through the Appfigures for Journalists program. Contact us for more details.

All figures included in this report are estimated. Unless specified otherwise, estimated revenue is always net, meaning it's the amount the developer earned after Apple and Google took their fee.

Tagged: #business

Related Resources

WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal Are Out! China Bans Messaging Apps as Demand for VPNs Skyrockets
Insights
WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal Are Out! China Bans Messaging Apps as Demand for VPNs Skyrockets

China is waging war on messaging apps. Not all, but the most popular ones. Late Thursday night, China asked Apple to re...

Why is Paramount+ Shutting Down the Showtime Streaming App?
Insights
Why is Paramount+ Shutting Down the Showtime Streaming App?

Success for a streaming app isn't a matter of luck but rather content (and looooots of marketing). That's why Max (HBO's...