If you search for articles about the audiobook industry, the first thing that most include is the outstanding growth of the medium. Publisher’s Weekly articles mention the eleven years of double digit growth in sales and the $2 billion the industry made in 2023. Book Riot quotes the research from the Immersive Media and Books 2020 survey (led by our very own Dr. Rachel Noorda and Dr. Kathi Inman Berens) showing that 4,000 Americans engaged with a book in 2020, with 43 percent of survey respondents interacting with audiobooks specifically. Studies done by the Immersive Media and Books survey and the Audio Publishers Association have shown some demographic categories of who is listening, breaking it down between gender and age.

All of these numbers are compelling, especially if you are a first time author deciding what format is best to publish your book. But what is important to consider is not just who and how many people are listening, but why they are choosing to do so. Looking at the why shows what makes the audiobook medium stand out and allows for a greater perspective of who might be a potential audience member for your book. With the recently published thesis by Ellice K. Tan at BYU, we can get a better understanding of the commonalities between listeners’ reasons.

Tan was motivated to uncover audiobook consumption habits using uses and gratification theory. The theory is just that: dissecting how people use certain technologies, products or media, and what gratification they get from it. Student participants of Tan’s study marked their agreement level with different statements regarding their listening preferences or habits. From there, Tan was able to discern shared motivations, which led to four developed categories for audiobook listeners: Busy Bookworms, Non-Readers, Experience Lovers, and Entertainment Seekers.

Busy Bookworms include those who would love to read a print book, but who just can’t fit a sit down reading session into their day. These listeners appreciate the fact that an audiobook is portable and can be listened to while multitasking. Non-readers, a label which I would amend to non print readers, include those who agreed with the statement, “Because of a physical, psychological, or physiological condition, it’s very hard for me to read an actual book.” Non-readers might listen to an audiobook to manage their anxiety, and therefore the sound of an audiobook is very important to them. For Experience Lovers, they listen to audiobooks for the connection and immersion that it gives them. The accents and voices done by narrators help the characters become more real to Experience Lovers. The last category, Entertainment Seekers, identifies individuals who look to audiobooks as an escape from their reality. They’ll listen while washing the dishes or doing laundry as a way to help the chores feel less mundane. For Entertainment Seekers, TV and other forms of media are just as entertaining.

Tan’s study is so much more rich than this blog can describe. But the heart of the study can be summarized as this: when we categorize audiobook listener motivations and habits, we are able to uncover the full diversity of the audiobook audience as well as the tremendous power that an audiobook has to offer. Thinking about the “why” of audiobook consumption can allow authors and publishers alike to better tap into the market. The most heartwarming finding of the study? That across the board, audiobook listeners listen for the story itself. Passing on stories, whether fiction or nonfiction, continues to be a signifier of humanity.

Written by Mara Palmieri.