Classics, thrillers and fantasy books. And looking at the cities most interested in the lead are Rome, Milan and Turin, followed by Bologna and Brescia. Audiobooks and the advancement of this sector in Italy is a gold rush. Still small numbers, but the phenomenon is growing rapidly. Suffice it to say that between one year and the next the turnover has substantially doubled. And that now the listeners of audiobooks exceed tens of millions. The survey “Reading and cultural consumption in the year of the emergency”, by the Center for books and reading (Cepell) of the Ministry of Culture and the AIE indicated that 12% of the population were listeners to audio books. The NielsenIQ survey for Audible speaks of 10 million.
The advance of Audible
Audible – an Amazon company among the major players in the production and distribution of quality audio entertainment (audio books, podcasts and audio series) – has closed its first five years of activity. And the result is the 10 million lovers of stories told by great voices in headphones, marking an increase of 11 percentage points compared to last year. The figure is confirmed by the latest NielsenIQ research commissioned by Audible (May 2021), which photographs a country increasingly attentive to the world of audio entertainment and in search of voices and stories with which to enrich their days. The audience has an “omnivorous” media diet, and not only reads printed books and e-books but is also a great admirer of podcasts. The majority of audiobook listeners (88%) say they also listen to and like podcasts.
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Who are the audio players in Italy
Audiobook listeners are mostly Millennials, 54% are between 25 and 34 years old, and it is among them that there are also most of the so-called “heavy users” (7%), that is, those who listen to audiobooks every day. There are also numerous listeners between the ages of 18 and 24, who together with those between the ages of 35 and 44, likewise amount to 45%. Listening to audio books is growing especially in Central Italy (51%) and among those who use the Internet for over 4 hours a day (52%).
Opportunities for listening
Even in 2021, the home is confirmed as the favorite place to enjoy the company of an audio book, with over 78% of Italians giving a voice to stories in the comfort of their own home. Also thanks to the gradual return to a life of less cloister than last year and the lockdown period, the habit of listening during commuting returns: audience ratings in the car and on public transport increase, respectively at 20% and 14% , against 14% and 12% in 2020. In any place you decide to press play and enjoy an audiobook, 83% of Italians choose the solo listening mode, even if the percentage of those sharing the pleasure of listening with other people. For those who listen in company, it is mostly children (35%) who share the passion for listening. Thanks to the power and charm of voices and stories, audiobooks manage to keep us glued to the headphones for almost 30 minutes: the average duration of a listening session, in fact, is 25.4 minutes.
The most popular genres
Also in 2021 the strongest listening driver is relaxation. Relaxing is the first reason that pushes Italians to put on their headphones or activate the smart speaker and rely on the plot of an audiobook (46%). Listening is a way to learn and broaden their horizons for 23% of Italians, while 31% say they combine listening with reading, especially when it is not possible to read (+ 4% compared to 2020). Almost 50% of Italians dedicate themselves to audio entertainment while they are busy with other matters, and a new interesting fact emerges: for over 40% of Italians, audio books are a reason for company and comfort. In fact, 43% of the listeners consider them valid allies against loneliness while 40% listen to them as an antidote to insomnia. As for tastes in terms of audience, in the transition between 2020 and 2021 the top floors of the ranking of the most popular genres in Italy remain unchanged. The timeless on the shelf, the classics (32%), followed by thrillers (28%) and fantasy and science fiction books (23%) resist the passage of time and changing fashions.