ALL-STARS BONUSES BOOSTED AND
EXTENDED TO ALL KDP MARKETS
There was a big increase in the KDP Select Global Fund for Kindle Unlimited for May 2022 as it shot up by $1.8 million to $43.3 million from $41.5 million in April 2022.
That $43.3 million payout represented a 20.5% rise on an annualised basis from the $35.9 million total in May 2021.
The US KENP rate for May 2022 showed a small increase to $0.0045 from $0.0044 in April 2022.
In the UK, the KENP rate for May 2022 rose to £0.0032 from £0.0031.
My calculations indicate there could have been around 9.62 billion KENPs read during May 2022, up from 9.43 billion KENPs in April 2022, and back to the same level of 9.62 billion KENPs estimated in March 2022.
The figures I use for total KENPs read are entirely unofficial and use a calculation of dividing the total KDP Select Global Fund ($43.3 million) by the US KENP rate ($0.0045). These estimates are based entirely on the amount paid out under the KDP Select Global fund and are only an indication of possible trends.
First month for revamped All-Stars bonuses
May 2022 was the first month of payouts for the expanded KDP Select All-Stars bonuses awarded to best-selling authors, which have risen to a monthly total of $1.5 million and extended to all KDP markets.
The bonus scheme was previously available only in the US, UK and German marketplaces, but will now cover Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.de, Amazon.fr, Amazon.es, Amazon.it, Amazon.co.jp, Amazon.ca, Amazon.au, Amazon.com.br, Amazon.in, and Amazon.mx
The All-Stars bonuses were brought in during 2014 after Kindle Unlimited was launched and some best-selling authors saw their monthly revenues plummet as they lost sales.
The payouts have been around $500,000 a month to the top 100 most-read authors and the top 100 most-read titles. In the US marketplace the top 10 most-read authors got $25,000 apiece, and lower-placed authors were on a sliding scale from $10,000 to $1,000.
KINDLE UNLIMITED PAYOUTS 2020-2022
The US KENP payout figures for 20120-2022 are:
2020
January: $0.0044
February: $0.0045
March: $0.0046
April: $0.0042
May: $0.0042
June: $0.0045
July: $0.0043
August: $0.0043
September: $0.0045
October: $0.0045
November: $0.0046
December: $0.0045
2021
January: $0.0042
February: $0.0045
March: $0.0044
April: $0.0045
May: $0.0044
June: $0.0044
July: $0.0043
August: $0.0042
September: $0.0045
October: $0.0045
November: $0.0047
December: $0.0047
2022
January: $0.0043
February: $0.0045
March: $0.0043
April: $0.0044
May: $0.0045
The monthly KDP Select Global Fund totals for 2020-2022 are:
2020
January: $28.2 million
February: $27.2 million
March: $29 million
April: $30.3 million
May: $32.2 million
June: $32.3 million
July: $32.4 million
August: $32.6 million
September: $32.7 million
October: $32.9 million
November: $33.2 million
December: $34 million
Total for 2020: $377 million
Annual increase from 2019 to 2020: 25%
2021
January: $36 million
February: $33.5 million
March: $35.4 million
April: $35.5 million
May: $35.9 million
June: $36.5 million
July: $38.1 million
August: $39.6 million
September: $39.7 million
October: $39.8 million
November: $39.9 million
December: $40.2 million
Total for 2021: $450.1 million
Annual increase from 2020 to 2021: 19%
2022
January: $42.9 million
February: $39.4 million
March: $41.4 million
April: $41.5 million
May: $43.3 million
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
2020: $377 million
2021: $450.1 million
2022: $208.5 million so far
Grand total overall of $2,150,735,000 ($2.150 billion)