A new study sponsored by the Authors Guild examining the causes of the decline in authors’ earnings found that only 25% of print books and e-books read in the past month were bought new or through a paid subscription.
The study, conducted by the Codex Group, notes that while books are available in more formats and channels than ever before, average author earnings, now pegged at about $10,000 annually, have declined about 42% since 2009, the year Kindles first entered the market.
Breaking down the source of where print and e-books are bought, the survey found that just 19% of books in text format (that is, print and e-book) read in the prior month were bought new, while 6% were obtained through a paid subscription, which usually entail much lower royalties for authors, the Guild noted.
The most popular way readers obtained their most recent book was at the library, with 29% of readers choosing that option, while 10% were bought used. Another 16% were borrowed for free from other sources, and 19% were from personal collections.
When it comes to digital audiobooks, 36% were either purchased new or accessed through paid subscriptions, and 37% of digital audiobooks were borrowed from libraries. Twenty-seven percent were acquired from other sources, including pirated copies.
The survey also found that the readers earning more than $75,000 a year were most likely to borrow a book from a library instead of buying it.
While the Guild stresses its strongly supports the availability of books through various channels and formats, it also notes that authors aren’t benefitting from the wider availability of their books. Among the points the study notes is that authors receive a 25% royalty on e-books, even though e-books cost publishers little to produce. (Authors and publishers have been fighting for years over the 25% e-book royalty rate.)
The study also addresses another flash point over digital books—digital lending by libraries. Since e-books were first introduced, authors and publishers have worried that the lack of “friction”—i.e. the need to go to the library to pick up a book—would lead to a surge in e-book lending at the expense of sales. According to survey results, the data suggests that is indeed happening: active library members were found to buy 42% fewer new books than non-members, and the substitution effect is strongest for the most popular, widely stocked authors.
The lack of friction is a factor in publishers’ pricing models to libraries. In 2021, the AAP filed suit over a Maryland law that required any publisher offering to license “an electronic literary product” to consumers in the state to also offer to license the content to public libraries “on reasonable terms” that would enable library users to have access. Courts eventually agreed with the AAP and blocked implementation of the law.
Currently, there is a renewed push by library organizations asking major publishers to revise their licensing policies, and some states have introduced new bills seeking to regulate publishers’ licensing policies.
Guild CEO Mary Rasenberger said the study highlights how few books that are read are actually paid for by readers, and that even those that are paid for entail authors earning less than the old-fashioned print royalty. Given those factors, Rasenberger said, “It is no wonder author incomes have been so in decline.”
