Spotify said on Tuesday that users of its premium services in the UK and Australia would now have 15 hours of free access to audiobooks a month. The music streaming giant plans to roll out the feature in the United States later this year, offering users a choice of more than 150,000 titles from five major publishers. Subscribers can also buy additional 10-hour allocations for $11 in the US or £9 in the UK. The feature is available now for Premium individual accounts and members of family plans.
The move comes as the Spotify Technology SA-owned service seeks to supplement its earnings with other revenue-generating formats. The company already sells podcast subscriptions, and it launched an audiobook service last year that challenged Amazon’s Audible in the United States.
In announcing the new perk, Spotify emphasized that it will focus on the growing audience of listeners who prefer spoken content while commuting or during downtime. The firm noted that the audiobook feature will be integrated with Spotify’s music streaming service, allowing users to listen to both. It also plans to let them share their favorite reads with friends and family and build their listening libraries on Spotify’s platform through recommended titles and playlists.
At the same time, Spotify plans to add a new higher-priced subscription option to provide users with high-fidelity audio, which it believes is essential for audiophiles. The plan will initially be available in select markets, including the United States, but Spotify says it hopes to expand the availability of the high-fidelity option.
Pricing for the Premium tier will also go up in several other markets, including most of Europe and chunks of Asia. The move will help Spotify offset rising costs for the subscription service as it works toward sustainable profitability and keeps its investors happy.
Subscriber numbers grew 22 percent from the previous quarter, which was below expectations and partly due to ongoing COVID-19 headwinds. The company’s monthly active users totaled 365 million in June, up from 285 million in March.
Spotify’s decision to include audiobooks as part of its Premium offering is a bold one that could boost its user base in the United States and other markets. Still, it will also put the service at a disadvantage when compared with Audible’s expansive catalog. The company’s expansion into the space came despite being prevented from selling its audiobooks in the App Store by Apple, which requires apps to be sold a la carte. Previously, Spotify partnered with publisher Findaways, allowing it to sell a limited catalog of titles a la carte. Still, the company has since ended its deal with the publishing firm. That has prompted the company to pivot its strategy.
