Spotify US moves into audiobooks with catalogue of 300,000 titles

Spotify US has unveiled a catalogue of more than 300,000 audiobooks as it launches its new audio interface.

The "third pillar" of audio content combines audiobook titles alongside the music and podcasts section in users’ libraries, and books can be downloaded to listen offline. New titles in the catalogue include George Saunders’ Liberation Day, narrated by the author himself, Tina Fey, Stephen Root, Michael McKean and others. The US hardback of Liberation Day is published by Random House next month.

Expansion into markets outside the US is expected to begin quickly, Spotify has confirmed to The Bookseller, but no specifics for the UK market have as yet been detailed. 

The publishing industry has been wary of Spotify’s movement in the audio space, with some concerned its streaming model origins could leave authors unprotected and vulnerable to copyright infringement. The company’s established "Freemium" model combines a free ad-supported tier and the premium subscription tier. Pricing for each book is the same whether a user is a Spotify Premium subscriber or uses the platform for free. However, each audiobook must be purchased individually, which is likely to open up a new revenue opportunity for publishers. 

Earlier this year, company founder and chief executive officer Daniel Ek, said he believed audiobooks will be a "massive opportunity" for the company and made clear his intention to "win" in the audio space.

Commenting on the launch, Nir Zicherman, Spotify’s vice-president and global head of audiobooks and gated content, said: "We’ve always believed that the potential for audio is limitless, and have been saying for a while now that our ambition is to be the complete package for everyone’s listening needs. Audiobooks are next to come into the picture because we see a substantial untapped market: while audiobooks represent just a 6% to 7% share of the wider book market, the category is growing by 20% year over year. 

"But what we’re really excited about is providing a great new experience for listeners: introducing audiobooks to an audience of people who may never have tried them otherwise. By bringing audiobooks to Spotify, we have the opportunity to both grow the space as a whole and enrich listeners’ lives."

In November last year Spotify acquired Findaway, an audiobook streaming and distribution services company.

The aggressive expansion into audiobooks follows the company’s success with podcasts. Its podcast revenue for 2021 came in at €200m (£170m), and the platform has more than four million podcasts, with 182 million subscribers signed up at the end of the last quarter.