Audible Celebrates Landmark “Harry Potter” Audiobook Sales

by · March 31, 2016

It’s not hard to believe that the addition of the Harry Potter audiobooks to the Audible library has been extremely popular. In fact, Audible has just announced that since the audiobooks were added to the service last November, sales have reached one million!

Prior to the release on Audible, the digital audiobooks were only available through Pottermore. Since the release in November, the audiobooks have been a consistent feature on the bestseller lists.

Audible reports:

This milestone was reached only four months after Audible became the sole subscription-based service to offer the series as digital audiobooks on November 20th [sic], 2015.

Andy Gaies, the Chief Content Officer at Audible, said:

Decades after the release of J.K. Rowling’s celebrated series, there has never been a better time to be a “Harry Potter” fan. Audible listeners are the most voracious readers there are, and now that we’re able to offer the opportunity to enjoy the “Harry Potter” series seamlessly through the Audible service, our audience is clamoring for these wonderful stories. We’re gratified that the series has picked up steam so quickly on Audible and look forward to bringing even more listeners to J.K. Rowling’s richly imagined universe through our affordable platform.

Susan L. Jurevics, Chief Executive Officer at Pottermore, commented:

The “Harry Potter” digital audiobooks are now more accessible thanks to Audible’s ability to successfully connect with its vast membership base. We look forward to growing the audience with Audible and helping more users experience the joys and magic of J.K. Rowling’s [w]izarding [w]orld.

Congratulations to Audible and Pottermore – it’s a huge achievement, although we’re not surprised that so many listeners have been keen to get the digital audiobooks!

You can read the full press release below.

If you haven’t gotten the audiobooks yet, then head over to Audible where you can get all seven books.

Have you downloaded the audiobooks from Audible yet? Let us know in the comments!

Press Release
J.K. ROWLING’S BELOVED HARRY POTTER DIGITAL AUDIOBOOKS REACH ONE MILLION COPIES SOLD ON AUDIBLE

J.K. ROWLING’S WIZARDING WORLD SERIES ACHIEVES MILESTONE JUST FOUR MONTHS AFTER BEING MADE AVAILABLE TO AUDIBLE LISTENERS

LONDON. March  31, 2016, 2 pm – Audible, Inc., the world’s largest seller and producer of downloadable audiobooks and other spoken-word entertainment, today announced that J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter digital audiobooks have sold one million units at audible.co.uk, audible.com, audible.de and audible.com.au. This milestone was reached only four months after Audible became the sole subscription-based service to offer the series as digital audiobooks on November 20th, 2015. The recordings showcase captivating performances by Stephen Fry (in the UK and the rest of the world), Jim Dale (in the North American version) and Felix von Manteuffel (in the German version).  The UK version can be downloaded at audible.co.uk/HarryPotter.

“Decades after the release of J.K. Rowling’s celebrated series, there has never been a better time to be a Harry Potter fan,” said Andy Gaies, Audible’s Chief Content Officer. “Audible listeners are the most voracious readers there are, and now that we’re able to offer the opportunity to enjoy the Harry Potter series seamlessly through the Audible service, our audience is clamoring for these wonderful stories. We’re gratified that the series has picked up steam so quickly on Audible, and look forward to bringing even more listeners to J.K. Rowling’s richly imagined universe through our affordable platform.”

“These strong Audible sales figures demonstrate the continuing strength and appeal of the Harry Potter series on any platform – print book, eBook or digital audiobook,” said Susan L. Jurevics, Chief Executive Officer, Pottermore.  “The Harry Potter digital audiobooks are now more accessible thanks to Audible’s ability to successfully connect with its vast membership base.  We look forward to growing the audience with Audible and helping more users experience the joys and magic of J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World.”

Pottermore, the digital publishing, e-commerce, entertainment and news company from J.K. Rowling, is the global digital publisher of Harry Potter and J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World. As the digital heart of J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World, pottermore.com is dedicated to unlocking the power of imagination. It offers news, features, and articles as well as new and previously unreleased writing by J.K. Rowling. The Pottermore Shop, the company’s digital retail arm, will continue to sell the Harry Potter digital audiobooks.

Audible, the world’s largest seller and producer of downloadable audiobooks and other spoken-word content, invented and commercialized the first digital audio player in 1997, and has since been at the forefront of the explosively growing audiobook download segment. In 2015, listeners around the world downloaded 1.6 billion hours of audio from Audible.com outlets; Audible members downloaded an average of more than 17 books over the course of the year. Two thirds of new Audible members are first-time audiobook buyers.