The Kindle Unlimited KDP Select Fund for May 2020 leapt to another record high of $32.2 million, up from $30.3 million in April 2020.
The May 2020 fund figure represents an increase of more than 30% compared with the same month in 2019 which saw a fund of $24.6 million. The KENP rate for May 2020 held steady at $0.0042, the same level as in April 2020.
The KENP rate for the UK in May 2020 fell to £0.0030 from $0.0032 in April 2020.
The first five months of 2020 have produced a total of $146.9 million paid out by the KDP Select Fund and that total figure is running at 21.5% higher than the fund’s total for the first five months of 2019 of $120.9 million.
By way of comparison, the annual increase in the fund total over the whole year in 2019 compared with 2018 was 12.5%.
If the fund continues at the 21.5% rate of increase then it could hit a total of $366 million for the full year of 2020, which would represent exactly $1 million a day as 2020 is a leap year.
The fund figures for April 2020 and May 2020 have both exceeded the $1 million a day level at $30.3 million and $32.2 million respectively while the results for each of the first three months came close to the $1 million a day mark.
There was another substantial rise in KENPs read during the month as the total for May 2020 reached 7.66 billion, up from 7.21 billion KENPs in April, 6.3 billion KENPs in March and 6.04 billion KENPs in February. That is an increase of 26% over the period from February to May.
The figures I use for total KENPs read are entirely unofficial and use a calculation of dividing the total KDP Select Global Fund ($32.2 million) by the US KENP rate ($0.0042). 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
2020
January: $0.0044
February: $0.0045
March: $0.0046
April: $0.0042
May: $0.0042
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%
2020
January: $28.2 million
February: $27.2 million
March: $29 million
April: $30.3 million
May: $32.2 million
Total for 2020 so far: $146.9 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: $146.9 million so far
Grand total overall of $1,262,035,000 ($1.262 billion)
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