Hajra Naz
Spotify announced on Wednesday that it is expanding access to audiobooks to more than 180 markets around the world. The rollout covers regions across Europe, the Americas, the Caribbean, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia.
The expansion starts today. It will continue rolling out over the next few months.
With the wider launch, more than 750 million users will have access to audiobooks. The move gives Spotify a much bigger presence in the audiobook market. It also puts the company in a stronger position against music streaming rivals and dedicated audiobook services such as Audible.
Until now, Spotify’s audiobook offering was available mainly in English-speaking markets. These included the U.S., U.K., Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand. The service was also available in Germany.
The company said its audiobook catalog now includes more than 350,000 titles for users in the newly supported markets. The collection has also grown to cover more than 120 languages.
Spain is one of the markets included in the expansion. Users there will get access to more than 45,000 audiobook titles in Spanish.
Spotify is also working with publishers to expand its catalog in different countries. The company currently works with more than 300 publishers around the world.
Those partners include major publishing groups such as Planeta and Mondadori. Their involvement will help Spotify add more books and offer content that fits local markets.
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Subscription options will vary by country. In eligible markets such as Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Poland, Chile, Norway, and Peru, Premium subscribers can listen to up to 12 hours of audiobooks.
Spotify is also offering a standalone Audiobook+ subscription. Users in markets where the plan is available can use it to access audiobooks with a 15-hour listening allowance.
There is another option for people who do not want a subscription. Users can purchase individual audiobook titles directly.
Spotify is planning another expansion of its audiobook plans later this year. In November, the company will add an Audiobook+ option to student plans in selected regions.
The company said Audiobook+ has already gained significant traction. Since its launch last year, the service has attracted more than 1 million subscribers.
Spotify also said Audiobook+ has generated more than $100 million in annual recurring revenue for the platform. The company introduced the expanded audiobook access last year.
Spotify has continued adding features to make its audiobook service more useful. One of those features is called “Page Match.”
The company launched Page Match in February. It allows users to scan a page from a physical book.
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Spotify can then find the matching point in the audiobook. Users can continue the story through the audio version without manually searching for the right chapter or section.
The feature has gained a sizable audience since its release. Spotify said around 1 million people now use Page Match every month.
The company is also seeing strong growth in audiobook listening overall. Spotify said monthly audiobook listeners increased by 40% over the past year.
Listening time has also gone up. The company reported a 30% increase in audiobook listening hours during the same period.
Spotify has been adding more discovery tools as the audiobook business grows. Earlier this year, it introduced Audiobook Charts.
The charts are designed to help users find popular audiobook titles. They give listeners another way to discover books that are attracting attention on the platform.
Spotify has also started using AI in its audiobook efforts. The company introduced an AI-powered tool that allows authors to turn their books into audiobooks.
The tool uses models from ElevenLabs. It gives authors another way to create audio versions of their work without going through a traditional audiobook production process.
The company is exploring physical books as well. Spotify has started testing physical book sales through its audiobook platform in selected markets.
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The U.S. and U.K. are among the countries involved in those tests.
Taken together, these moves show how Spotify is building a broader book business around its audio platform. The company is no longer treating audiobooks as a small addition to its music service.
Instead, Spotify is expanding its catalog, subscription options, discovery tools, and publishing partnerships. The rollout to more than 180 markets is the biggest step yet in making audiobooks a larger part of the platform.
