Audio books are increasingly attracting young adults

“This is another form of presence in the text. However, I listen to it when I drive, when I put my apartment away, when I do the shopping … Nevertheless, “ It has been three years since audio books have occupied the daily life of Jade Assaoui, 21. For example, A great reader since childhood. Moreover, she sees it as a way to continue her reading of the moment when she is busy. Consequently, Better : “I found some novels even more moving in their audio version! Therefore, »»

Read also: Among young people. Moreover, reading unscrews in favor of screens

Like her, more and more young adults are adopting the audio book, a net in a clear boom. However, According to a study published by the Ministry of Culture, 18-34 year olds alone concentrate 60 % of listening time in audio books increasingly attracting young new France. Meanwhile, If their need for fiction does not weaken, their lifestyle accelerates. Therefore, At least. Meanwhile, that’s what Pierre Lelu suggests, 21 years old: “What pushed me to listen to audio books is time saving: it allows me to do something else next. Therefore, »»

Audio streaming platforms have understood this. From giant Spotify to specialists Audible and Storytel, they massively invest the audio book market, which follows a ascending curve. Spotify. which offers more than 200,000 titles for its premium subscribers, has bet “One million euros” In 2025 to expand the French -speaking offer.

Opaque remuneration methods

“This format represents for us a great opportunity to revive works. to reach new audiences”, says Jérémy Amsellem, head of audio book development at Spotify for Europe. On the platform, Virginie Grimaldi rubs shoulders with Alexandre Dumas, Flaubert, Science Fiction, New Romance. From the great classics to recent bestsellers. An eclectic or even encyclopedic audio books increasingly attracting young new catalog.

But beware: Spotify does not produce its own audio books. It bought rights to third -party publishers, in collaboration with production studios. The question of remuneration remains sensitive. and the platform did not wish to communicate the details of the sums paid to the authors, narrators and beneficiaries.

“The whole chain of the book. from the author to the actor, would have to benefit from a transparent framework”, warns a editor who prefers to remain anonymous. Because if the audio book market allows new visibility for works. it is also likely to reproduce, in the long term, the structural imbalances of an already fragile ecosystem.

For the moment, at least, audio reading does not harm the book object significantly. Pierre Lelu. who systematically bought in paper format the works he listens to, affirms that “From silent audio reading, there is no loss. Neither from the point of view of meaning, nor concentration. audio books increasingly attracting young new »»

When the authors take the microphone

In this expanding landscape, some voices are more successful than others. Those of the authors themselves. who sometimes take the microphone to carry their texts: Nicolas Demorand embodies his story Interior nightAlain Damasio lends his voice to Silicon valley Alongside actors, Gaël Faye interpreter Jacaranda. Enough to sag with the distance of silent reading between authors and readers.

“The direct link between the voice and the text brings a very intimate dimension”, Observe Jérémy Amsellem. What reconfigure the reception experience. For Pierre Lelu. listen Voyage at the end of the night Read by the actor by Denis Podalydès changed his relationship to the writer Céline: “It was the voice that convinced me. »»

It would be tempting to read the expansion of the audio book only in terms of technological changes. But its boom also reveals a need for respite. Also according to the report from the audio books increasingly attracting young new Ministry of Culture. 66 % of generation Z members acknowledge using audio content to reduce their stress. Audio books, ASMR, podcasts or white noises: everything contributes to reinventing a peaceful mental space.