Audio Publishers Association
Trade organization for the audiobook industry
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Audio Publishers Association (APA) is a not-for-profit trade association for the audiobook industry.[3] Founded in the United States in 1986, its stated mission is to "advocate the common, collective business interests of audio publishers."[4] Membership is open to "audio publishing companies and allied suppliers, distributors, and retailers of spoken word products and allied fields related to the production, distribution and sale of audiobooks."[4] Activities include national consumer surveys, gathering of industry statistics, trade-show exhibits, a newsletter and an annual conference.[4]
 | |
| Formation | May 1986 |
|---|---|
| Type | Nonprofit trade association |
| 13-3614862 | |
| Legal status | 501(c)(6) organization |
| Location |
|
| Field | Audiobook industry |
President | Sean McManus |
Executive director | Jim Dinegar |
| Revenue | US$949,090 (2024) |
| Expenses | US$875,087 (2024) |
| Website | www |
| [1][2] | |
History
The APA was founded in May 1986,[5][6] when somewhere between five to nine audiobook publishers joined to form the organization, initially to address the need for industry statistics, such as sales and member numbers.[7][8] The founders met for the first time in New Orleans at BookExpo America.[9] They included Newman Communications, Warner Bros. Audio, Simon & Schuster, Bantam Doubleday Dell, and Random House.[10] The first APA president was Seth Gershel who was also Simon & Schuster's director of sales.[10]
In 1994, the APA officially established the term "audiobook" as the industry standard.[11] In 1996, APA founded the Audie Awards, which AudioFile magazine called the "Oscars of the audiobook industry".[12] In addition to the awards, other events include an annual Audio Publishers Association Conference (APAC), and an International Summit of Audio Publishers (ISAP).