audiobook research

In my audiobook research, I came across an article, "Audiobook Sales Rose 13% in 2024", describing how audiobook sales continue to rise. Most of audiobook sales come from fiction audiobooks and a majority of audiobook users said that they were more convenient. Me personally, I prefer a physical book over an audiobook. I have listened to audiobooks before and the only setback for me was that I didn't absorb the story as much as I usually do with a physical book.
However, one interesting fact from the article state that one major reason why audiobooks were so popular is because of an increase in piracy. Apparently, 35% of audiobook listeners said that they have listened to an audiobook on YouTube and the majority of audiobooks on YouTube are pirated copies and available for free. The article also stated that the increase in audiobook sales was from young adult readers, who said that audiobooks fit into their busy schedules better than actually sitting down and reading a physical book.
I am currently looking into ways to get my Kathy Hamilton Mystery series into audiobook, and I was looking into the popularity and audience of audiobooks. Turning a book into an audiobook takes time and a lot of money, so I wanted to have as much information as possible before I started down the audiobook path.
So, where do you stand on this audiobook issue? Do you prefer audiobooks or physical books?  Have you ever listened to an audiobook on YouTube? What makes audiobooks preferable to physical books?
Until next time....