The Kindle Unlimited KENP rate for December 2019 fell back to $0.0046 from $0.0049 in November while the KDP Select Global Fund for December 2019 again rose by $100,000 to $26.2 million.
That took the amount paid out on Kindle Unlimited for the full year of 2019 by the KDP Select fund to more than $300 million for the first time, with an annual total of $301.4 million, representing a 12.5% increase on the figure for 2018.
The UK KENP rate for December 2019 fell to £0.0034 from $0.0036 in November. The December falls are in line with the usual seasonal trends which have become evident in Kindle Unlimited business over the past few years. The rates paid on KU have become very consistent since KENP v3.0 was introduced in August 2017.
The annual rate of increase in the KDP Select Global Fund eased back to 12.5% in 2019 compared with 2018’s total after annual rises of around 20% in 2018 and 2017. That’s only to be expected really as the rate of growth in Kindle Unlimited membership must have slowed down as the business has matured but 12.5% is still a substantial rise.
2019 saw Kindle Unlimited breaking through the $1 billion mark paid out to indie authors through the KDP Select fund since KU started in July 2014. If the fund payouts continue on their present rate of growth the overall total could be nearing $1.5 billion by the end of 2020.
For December 2019, using the calculation of dividing the total KDP Select fund ($26.2 million) by the US KENP rate ($0.0046) to get an idea of the total number of KENPs read during the month results in 5.69 billion KENPs, up substantially from 5.32 billion KENPs in November and back to the levels of October when the figure was 5.65 billion KENPs.
These estimates should not be regarded as being the overall total number of KENPs read during a month as they do not take into account any margin taken by Amazon. They are based entirely on the amount paid out under the KDP Select Global fund and are only an indication of possible trends.
The US KENP payout figures for 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 are:
2016
January: $0.0041
February: $0.0047 (KENP v2.0 introduced)
March: $0.0047
April: $0.0048
May: $0.0046
June: $0.0049
July: $0.0048
August: $0.0045
September: $0.0049
October: $0.0052
November: $0.0053
December: $0.0052
2017
January: $0.0047
February: $0.0049
March: $0.0046
April: $0.0045
May: $0.0043
June: $0.0042
July: $0.0040
August: $0.0041 (KENP v3.0 introduced)
September: $0.0044
October: $0.0045
November: $0.0046
December: $0.0050
2018
January: $0.0044
February: $0.0046
March: $0.0045
April: $0.0045
May: $0.0045
June: $0.0046
July: $0.0045
August: $0.0045
September: $0.0048
October: $0.0048
November: $0.0052
December: $0.0048
2019
January: $0.0044
February: $0.0047
March: $0.0045
April: $0.0046
May: $0.0046
June: $0.0046
July: $0.0044
August: $0.0044
September: $0.0046
October: $0.0046
November: $0.0049
December: $0.0046
The monthly KDP Select Global fund totals for 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 are:
2016
January: $15 million
February: $14 million (KENP v2.0 introduced)
March: $14.9 million
April: $14.9 million
May: $15.3 million
June: $15.4 million
July: $15.5 million
August: $15.8 million
September: $15.9 million
October: $16.2 million
November: $16.3 million
December: $16.8 million
Overall total for 2016: $186 million
2017
January: $17.8 million
February: $16.8 million
March: $17.7 million
April: $17.8 million
May $17.9 million
June $18 million
July: $19 million
August: $19.4 million (KENP v3.0 introduced)
September $19.5 million
October $19.7 million
November: $19.8 million
December: $19.9 million
Overall total for 2017: $222.6 million
Annual increase from 2016-2017: 19.67%
2018
January: $20.9 million
February: $20 million
March: $21 million
April: $21.2 million
May: $22.5 million
June: $22.6 million
July: £23.1 million
August: $23.3 million
September: $23.4 million
October: $23.5 million
November: $23.6 million
December: $23.7 million
Total for 2018: $267.8 million
Annual increase from 2017-2018: 20.35%
2019
January: $24.7 million
February: $23.5 million
March: $24 million
April: $24.1 million
May: $24.6 million
June: $24.9 million
July: $25.6 million
August: $25.8 million
September: $25.9 million
October: $26 million
November: $26.1 million
December: $26.2 million
Total for 2019: $301.4 million
Annual increase from 2018-2019: 12.5%
The annual total figures for Kindle Unlimited since it started are:
2014: $31.735 million (Jul-Dec)
2015: $131.6 million
2016: $186 million
2017: $222.6 million
2018: $267.8 million
2019: $301.4 million
Grand total overall of $1,141,135,000 ($1.141 billion)
Amazon Advertising adds France, Italy and Spain for KDP authors
Bookouture founder Oliver Rhodes quitting to set up new publishing firm
Over a quarter of Kobo book sales worldwide are for indie authors