Sprecher
Beschreibung
In recent years, high volumes of streamed audiobooks have been a mark of success of audio literature which thus possibly threaten print books in many countries. In Sweden, the 2024 figures indicated a 33 per cent market share of digital audio streaming. And while the sale statistics provide ample evidence of the popularity pf audio books, there is still little knowledge of readers’ perceptions of audiobook uses and practices. In early 2025 we conducted a large-scale survey of reading habits in collaboration with the Swedish Publishers’ Association. Among the many interesting results from the survey, the audio book practices and patterns in terms of genre, competing formats, and demographic aspects to habits (gender, age, education) provide new knowledge into who listens to what.
In the presentation I will discuss the findings of the survey in terms of who, what, and why.
Who listens to audiobooks in terms of age, gender, and education? Furthermore, how is their listening related to print reading (overlapping, excluding, combining)? From the material it is also possible to draw conclusion as to the relation between different genres and modes of reading and/or listening. Among, the many questions asked several was related to attitudes to reading and listening (e.g., I think reading is important, I want to read more, what stops me from reading). In these answers results concerning how audiobook listening is related to attitudes to books, reading, and other media are visible. All in all, the survey as a statistically correct version of the Swedish adult population gives a good indication to present reading and listening patterns.
Bio
Ann Steiner is professor of Sociology of Literature at Uppsala University, Sweden. Her research is within reading studies, publishing studies, and book history. Recent articles include “The Impeccable Taste of a Publisher. Literary Prizes and Cultural Value from a Publishing Perspective” (2025), “On a World Market for Books. The Internationalisation of Publishing” (2025), “Hybrid books. Merged audiovisual literature for children” (2022), with Karl Berglund “Is Backlist the New Frontlist? Large-scale data analysis of bestseller book consumption in streaming services” (2021), as well as several articles on children’s audiobooks (in Swedish).