Association of American Publishers

Publishing executives told the journal that they see an opportunity in YouTube's audience and a revenue-generating alternative to the glut of unauthorized audio versions of their books that are already on the platform.

The Association of American Publishers, AAP, reported that digital audiobook revenue topped $1 billion in 2025, which was up from $265 million in 2016.

So you're looking at a $750 million climb in nine years.

Broader Audio Publishers Association figures put total U.S. audiobook sales at $2.43 billion in 2025.

My guest today is Hanna Bauer.

She spent 17 years in publishing, sat on the American Association of Publishers board, and watched the e-book disruption hit the industry like a freight train.

Instead of waiting it out, she got curious about why some organizations bent and some broke, and spent the next decade to figure out the answer.

She is a lean Six Sigma black belt, a Baldrige examiner, and a Maxwell Leadership faculty member.

Thank you for having me.

Pleasure to be here.

We spent 17 years in publishing, rode out the e-book disruption, led American Association of Publishers board during a really chaotic period.

Yes.

Right.

We've also got the latest stat shot revenue data from the Association of American Publishers just to, you know, understand the actual money moving behind the scenes.

Because you always have to follow the money.

Always.

Wow.

Yeah.

And the Association of American Publishers has publicly condemned the situation, calling it a systemic infringement problem that is completely out of control.

But as anyone in cybersecurity knows, manual takedowns are a losing battle.

The Christian consumer market's big business in the US.

Though exact numbers are hard to find, the Association of American Publishers reported $2.2 billion in religious book sales in 2025.

That's before you count music, gifts, or wall signs that say things like live, laugh, and love.

Kristin's argument is that if you want to understand how American Christian women have actually been formed, you should spend less time in the seminaries and more time in the gift aisle.