Spotify Presents New Audiobook Service, Now Available to US Listeners Only

The Spotify digital streaming platform has unveiled its new audiobook service featuring a whopping 300K+ titles that will initially only be available to listeners around the United States. Those wanting to try out the new option can find audiobooks in their Spotify search, in a separate section of their library, or through curated recommendations on the home page.

Unlike how it works with Spotify podcasts and music, the audiobooks are to be distributed on an à la carte pricing model. It means that even though you can discover all the titles within your app, you will not be able to unlock them all and have to pay for each individually via a specialized page on the company website. Purchased books will then be saved automatically to the user’s Spotify library and available to listen to at any time.

Free users and premium subscribers alike will have access to the audiobook service on a paid basis. To make the audiobook listening experience more convenient and smooth for the customers, Spotify has also introduced a new interface built specifically for this purpose. It includes an offline listening mode, auto-bookmarking, narration speed control, and a rating section where users can leave their impressions on a particular title to help others in their search.

Spotify has been expected to announce its grand entry into the audiobook market ever since it paid $119 million to acquire the Findaway audio technology company in 2021. Once it launches in other countries, the new Spotify service will likely put the Swedish audio streaming giant into direct competition with Amazon’s Audible.

What do you think of Spotify’s new audiobook service? Will you be using it a lot when it is finally made available in your country? Leave a comment in the comment section below!