The transformative role of audio content in the publishing landscape, at a time when print is facing serious challenges that can only be exacerbated over the next few years as new economic realities hit home.

In 2024, Italy saw 6.2 million audiobook listeners, representing 14% of the population aged 15-74, marking a significant increase from the 4.9 million listeners, or 9% of the population, before the Pandemic. Additionally, 12.4 million Italians reported listening to podcasts last year. That’s according to data from the Italian Publishers Association (AIE) and Pepe Research.

After focusing on the French market, Bookwire’s “All About Audio” is coming to Italy on February 12, from 10.00 AM to 1.00 PM. Register here.

Event Details

Moderated by Giulia Lo Monaco, Head of Audio for Italy and Spanish markets at Bookwire, the event will be introduced by

Jens Klingelhöfer, Global CEO, and Marco Ferrario, Director of Bookwire Italy. The session will begin with updated data from the Italian Publishers Association (AIE), presented by Bruno Giancarli, focusing on listening habits.

Speakers and Topics

Juan Baixeras (Audible): Insights into the Italian audiobook market, developments, opportunities, and comparisons with international markets.

Ramona Palumbo (Disney) and Matteo Fabrini (Faba): Discussing non-screen entertainment for children.

Marco Novali (Storytel): AI solutions to enhance and expand the listener experience.

Miriam Spinnato (Mondadori), Gianluca Mazzitelli (Salani), and Sergio Polimene (Emons): Sharing experiences and expectations for 2025’s digital trends.

Francesca Valenti (Rakuten Kobo): Analysis of changing reading habits in Italy with the spread of audiobooks.

The View From The Beach

While this event is obviously focussed on the Italian book market, there are lessons to be learned for publishers everywhere.

The transformative role of audio content in the publishing landscape, at a time when print is facing serious challenges that can only be exacerbated over the next few years as new economic realities hit home, cannot be overstated.

The Bookwire event will offer us Italian-focussed but globally applicable insights into emerging trends, technological advancements, and consumer behaviour.

New Opportunities

The rise of audiobooks and podcasts already present new opportunities for growth and innovation in the global publishing industry, and we are just scratching the surface of audio’s transformative potential.

Embracing AI will accelerate this trend, especially once the copyright nonsense that prevents AI-contributions being protected, is dumped in the trashcan of historical anachronisms.

But there is still much more to explore with audio.

Audio for ESL

For example, the Bookwire event will include discussing non-screen entertainment for children.

As a teacher in West Africa, where books are as rare as three-legged sabre-toothed tigers, I use video stories to teach children English, and then simply turn down the brightness so only sound can be heard to test the children’s listening and comprehension skills. Cumbersome, but effective!

The ESL market is a huge opportunity for well-crafted audio content.

This post first appeared in the TNPS LinkedIn newsfeed.