Youth Affairs Agency of the Republic of Uzbekistan

Against the backdrop of development and globalization, it seems that books are disappearing from our lives, but despite this, audiobooks and their usage are becoming increasingly popular. These books were initially created for blind or visually impaired individuals, but over time, especially with the development of gadgets, the use of audiobooks has started to spread widely. People see audiobooks as a convenient solution for saving time, avoiding the burden of carrying physical books, and most importantly, for eye health. That is, for a person whose eyes get tired from looking at various devices like phones and computers throughout the day, reading a book can be an additional strain, so listening to an audiobook is becoming more convenient.

There are also claims in society that listening to audiobooks is not as effective and beneficial as traditional reading, and this topic is often debated. It is true that audiobooks have their disadvantages. For example, reading a book helps develop a person's writing skills, which is lost in audiobooks. Additionally, experiments have shown that listeners find it harder to remember secondary characters in audiobooks.

However, there are also many advantages. Listening to audiobooks can be a productive use of time, as one can listen to an audiobook while doing some other task. Moreover, such books are cheaper or free compared to traditional books, do not cause additional eye strain, and information is easily received through listening. They are also environmentally friendly, as no trees are used for paper, and a well-narrated book can be more enjoyable than its traditional form. There are also versions designed for children who have not yet learned to read.

Overall, the trend of the development of audiobooks is increasing worldwide, and their share in the book industry is growing day by day. In Uzbekistan, significant growth has been observed in this area in recent years, which we will discuss further below. But first, let's look at the history and general development of audiobooks.

What is the history of audiobooks?

As mentioned above, audiobooks were first created for blind people. The history of this direction began in 1932 with the establishment of a studio for recording audiobooks on vinyl by the American Foundation for the Blind. The first recordings included plays by William Shakespeare, the US Constitution, and Gladys Hasty Carroll's novel "As the Earth Turns."

With the emergence of new technologies, audiobooks began to develop gradually. In the 1960s, cassettes and in the 1980s, compact discs were invented, which contributed to another growth spurt in audiobooks. In 1994, Audible, a network company of Amazon, introduced its first audio player for audiobooks, and a year later, the possibility of downloading audiobooks to computers appeared, marking a new stage.

How will the audiobook market develop in the near future?

The global audiobook market size was estimated at $6.83 billion in 2023 and is expected to grow by 26.2% from 2024 to 2030. The development of smartphones has increased the popularity of audiobooks. Additionally, artificial intelligence integration has entered the audiobook field. Some audiobook platforms now offer book recommendations to users based on AI algorithms. Companies working in this area are forecasted to increase the trend of introducing technological innovations into the sector in the future.

Revenue from the audiobook market worldwide is expected to reach $7.93 billion by 2024.

According to analyses, the revenue growth rate is expected to increase by 10.44% annually (2024-2029), reaching $13.03 billion by 2029.

The number of audiobook readers worldwide is expected to reach 1.8 billion by 2029.

Comparatively, this sector generates the most revenue in the United States—$3.4 billion in 2024.

Due to the growing demand for audiobooks in the global media market, a transition to convenient and engaging audiobooks for consumers worldwide has begun.

How is the sector developing in Uzbekistan, and how profitable is it?

Until recently, there were no significant projects in Uzbekistan in this area, with volunteers primarily recording books on platforms like Telegram and YouTube. Additionally, television programs that read books and radio plays based on books were also established, but these are different matters.

At the beginning of 2024, the Youth Affairs Agency, in cooperation with the People's Bank, announced the "Mutolaa" project. The project's "Mutolaa" application currently hosts nearly 2,000 books in electronic and audio formats. This project has significantly boosted the audiobook sector in Uzbekistan.

The most important aspect is that these books are entirely free, requiring only registration in the app to use. Moreover, the audiobooks are narrated by professional dubbing actors, and a large team is working on this project. All of this is done to attract young people to reading, with no financial gain.

"This process is not simple. When the narrator is reading, there is another responsible person with them to ensure no mistakes are made and to control the recording quality. Then there is a two-stage editing process. An expert listens to the audio, and any detected errors are corrected, and the problematic parts are re-read and inserted into the work. The expert's task is to listen to the audio and visually follow the text to determine what mistakes can or cannot be overlooked.

In developed countries, each book has several versions read by different narrators. In our country, very few books are narrated. We need to reach such a level that, if necessary, there are several versions of one book read by different voices, and readers can choose the one they like," says Shirin Olmasova, an audiobook expert for the "Mutolaa" project.

As mentioned above, we talked about the audiobook industry and its growing share. Naturally, the question arises: if there are free projects in this area in Uzbekistan, is it possible to establish an audiobook industry?

The "Mutolaa" project cannot cover the narration of all books, as not all publishers allow this, and there is also the issue of copyright. Moreover, new books are written and translated year after year, and there are various developmental textbooks and manuals besides artistic books. Therefore, it is possible to form a large audiobook market in Uzbekistan, and this remains a promising field.