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The Lead Story Publishing in 2021 report
PA annual report lauds impact of TikTok on sales as sector reaches new high
The Publishers Association’s annual report into book sales in the UK and beyond suggests home sales income rose 7%, with most sectors enjoying halcyon days as book sales surge
Sian Bayley @sleighbayley
T
otal publishing income for the UK reached a new high in 2021, rising 5% to £6.7bn, with surges in fiction and
Young Adult titles driven by TikTok, a report by the Publishers Association (PA) shows. The Publishing in 2021 report showed home sales income rose 7% to £2.7bn in 2021, while total export sales rose 2% to £3.8bn. However, while the consumer market performed strongly, the education sector is only just starting to return to growth and has not yet reached pre-pandemic levels. Total print sales were up 5% to £3.5bn and
total digital sales also rose 5%, to £3.2bn. The report said the industry showed “remarkable resilience” despite challenges from the pandemic and the global supply chain, and the record sales figures reflected “the endur- ing appeal of publishing products”. The consumer market mostly saw increases across the board, with the UK market up 2% to £1.5bn and export market up 8% to £727m. Consumer print was up 5% to £1.8m, with only digital dipping, by 1% to £416m. Income from fiction jumped 7% to £733m, while non-fiction rose by 1% to £1.1bn. Children’s was up 7% to £425m, while audio downloads soared 14% to £151m. Australia and the US were the top two export countries, and both saw rises, however, Germany, which placed third, reported reduced sales. Perminder Mann, chair of the Consumer Publishers Council and c.e.o. at Bonnier Books UK, said last year’s consumer book sales “remained buoyant” with books offer- ing “comfort and escapism as well as great
06 22nd April 2022
PERMINDER MANN CHAIRS THE PA’S CONSUMER PUBLISHERS COUNCIL
value for money” in times of uncertaint. “While social media has long been described as a distraction to reading, the #BookTok phenomenon has shown these two forms of media needn’t compete, with TikTok’s organic communit of book-lovers continuing to drive sales across publishers’ front and backlists,” she said.
PA in buoyant mood Stephen Lotinga, chief executive of the PA, agreed, describing 2021 as “another tremendous year for UK publishing”. He said: “Our outstanding authors provided readers with the entertainment and comfort they so badly needed as the pandemic continued. It’s been particularly interesting to see TikTok communities driving new interest in books— particularly of fiction and Young Adult titles.” Nevertheless, Lotinga noted that despite these successes for the industry, it has also seen “further consolidation of sales on a single digital market platform” in the shape of Amazon. “Such a lack of competition cannot benefit readers in the long-term,” he said, “and that is why it is more important
[BookTok] has shown these two forms of media needn’t compete, with TikTok’s organic community of book-lovers continuing to drive sales Perminder Mann, Bonnier Books UK c.e.o.
than ever that the government meets its commitment to bring forward new powers to properly regulate the tech giants in the forthcoming Queen’s speech [on 10th May]”. He told The Bookseller: “There is a common recognition that some of these companies have grown so big that rather than just having a choice about whether or not you sell your products on there, every single part of the industry is entirely reliant. We saw that during the pandemic[…] it was obviously an incredibly important part of our abilit to sell books last year, and Amazon made sure that books continued to get delivered to people and that the success of both audiobooks and
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