Spotify continues to expand the markets in which it offers audiobooks, announcing on Tuesday (November 18) that audiobook streaming is now available in five more European markets, including its home country of Sweden.
Audiobooks are now also available in Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Monaco, the company wrote on its blog.
As in some other markets, Premium subscribers will get 12 free hours of audiobooks per month, with the option of buying more time in 10-hour increments. Free users have the option of buying audiobooks individually.
For the first time at launch, Spotify is offering listeners the option to subscribe to Audiobooks+, a recurring monthly add-on that offers additional audiobook hours and enables managers of Family and Duo accounts to purchase access for sub-accounts.
The 12 hours of included time is at the low end of the range that Spotify offers at no extra cost to Premium subscribers. In the US, UK, Canada and elsewhere, Premium plans come with 15 hours. The variation is reportedly due to differences in the deals Spotify has signed with publishers.
Spotify also announced that it is beta-testing a new ‘recap’ feature for English-language titles, offering personalized summaries of a book based on where the listeners last left off.
In the mostly Nordic countries where audiobooks launched this week, Spotify says listeners will have access to 300,000 audiobooks, including “the region’s largest selection of English-language catalog available on a consumption-based service” and a “thoughtfully curated” local-language catalog.
“The Nordics are home to some of the world’s most passionate audiobook listeners and some of Spotify’s most engaged communities. With Audiobooks in Premium now available in these countries, we’re opening new doors for both local and international authors and publishers to reach more listeners than ever before,” Spotify said.
Spotify is painting its expansion into audiobooks – which began two years ago – as a commercial success. Data shared with Bloomberg last month, and reiterated on its blog Tuesday, showed that the number of audiobook listeners in English-language markets grew 36% over the past year, with listening hours up 37%.
“We’re opening new doors for both local and international authors and publishers to reach more listeners than ever before.”
Spotify
Spotify says more than half (52%) of audiobook listeners globally are between the ages of 18 and 34, “underscoring how we’re connecting a new generation with the power of storytelling. Leading publishers such as Bloomsbury, HarperCollins, and Lagardère have even credited Spotify with driving double-digit growth in audio sales.”
Spotify’s move into audiobooks has sparked some controversy within the music industry, particularly in the US, where the streaming platform’s decision to treat its subscriptions as music/audiobook “bundles” resulted in a reduction of mechanical royalty payouts to publishers and songwriters.
That move has triggered legal actions on behalf of song rights owners, including a lawsuit brought by The Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC) against Spotify, which continues in federal court despite a setback earlier this year, and a complaint against Spotify filed with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
The expansion of its audiobooks service comes hot on the heels of another Spotify product expansion – one that’s arguably going to have more impact on the music business.
Spotify recently launched its long-awaited “super-premium” tier for music superfans in five pilot markets – India, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and the United Arab Emirates.
Dubbed ‘Premium Platinum,’ the new tier includes lossless audio quality (something for which Spotify users have been clamoring for years), AI-powered features like AI DJ and AI Playlist, and mixing tools, among other things.Music Business Worldwide
