Music streaming platform Spotify has announced that it will launch 150,000 free audiobooks to Premium members.
Spotify CEO Daniel Ek revealed that Spotify users in the U.K., Australia, and the U.S. will be able to listen to 15 hours of premium audiobooks per month. ek said, “I believe this will bring a new generation of listeners to audiobooks.”
Spotify users will be able to try as many audiobooks as they want from their media library, which includes 150,000 titles from all major publishers, but will be capped at 15 hours of listening time. Beyond that, users can buy an additional 10 hours of listening time for $10.99 (currently around $80).
Spotify has continued to make efforts in the field of audiobooks in recent years, and in 2022 spent $123 million (currently about RMB 899 million) to acquire the audiobook platform Findaway, adding about 300,000 books. However, due to Google and Apple’s in-app purchase restrictions, this means that users can’t actually buy a book on most platforms, and the new model of using subscriptions + listening time is expected to solve this problem.
The Wall Street Journal as reported that people familiar with the matter have revealed that Spotify is working with some of the largest publishers in the U.S. on a pilot program that will offer free audiobook trials to Premium members, with plans to go live in the coming months. Contrary to the official announcement, the outlet previously claimed that subscribers would be able to enjoy up to 20 hours of listening time per month.
