In one form or another, audiobooks have been with us since the 1930s. But it was only in the mid 1980s that the medium entered the mainstream. As Walkmans and car stereo cassette players became ubiquitous, large publishers responded to growing consumer demand by starting their own audio divisions, and books on audio cassette began to appear in bookstores.

The following statistics come from the Audio Publisher's Association's (APA) recently completed 1999 Consumer Awareness Study:

• The audiobook industry reports annual sales near $2 billion. (Other estimates, which include sales that the APA doesn't track, are nearly twice as high.)
• Audiobook sales grew 10.2% in 1998; between 1995 and 1998, growth was 39.6%. Both of which pale compared to the growth rate in sales between 1990 and 1998: 360%.
• Part of this growth was due to the increasing popularity of unabridged audiobooks and longer abridgements, both of which carry a higher price point than short abridgements.
• About 21% of American households listen to audiobooks (compared to 12% in 1995)

In the mid 1990s, audiobook publishers aggressively sought out new markets and outlets. In this, they generally went where book publishers had already paved the way. Audio book clubs were launched and proved very successful--audiobookclub.com, for example, claims to have 1.75 million members. Mass-market outlets such as airports and discount stores were convinced to stock audiobooks, and specialty shops likewise. The overlap with book publishing is by no means complete, however, either in product or market. MediaBay's product line, for example, includes old radio shows and videos; and audiobooks are able to sell briskly in outlets in which books have the merest toehold, such as truck stops.