Bookwire 'saw 35% sales growth in 2019'

Frankfurt-based audio and e-book distributor Bookwire GmbH says it saw 35% sales growth in 2019, with a 140% surge in its audiobook segment.

The firm did not reveal the figures behind the percentages or break-out numbers for individual territories for the results, which cover the year ending 31st December 2019.

Bookwire said the number of audiobooks produced through Bookwire had risen to more than 60,000 by the end of 2019.

Streaming was a “powerful growth driver”, the company said. In 2019, the audio tracks from audiobooks and plays distributed via Bookwire were streamed over 800 million times, more than three times as frequently as in 2018.

Sales in e-books also increased by 24%, with a simultaneous increase in the number of Bookwire titles to over 400,000. Together with the print-on-demand business area, the company said it globally exploits a total of almost 500,000 titles across all formats.

C.e.o. Jens Klingelhöfer said: “The development supports the decision we made years ago to focus more on the audio branch – and, as a first mover, we are now an international leader in the audiobook business. Audiobook production solution We Audiobook You (WAY) and audiobook voice assistant Bookwire Odyssey for smart speakers are just two innovative in-house developments that support our publishers in this market.

“We also continue to record growth in the e-book area with our full service for publishing clients in our core market, DACH, but primarily also in Brazil and Spain. Plus, print-on-demand is another growth area that completes our portfolio.”