Spotify is a company that likes to expand into other markets. Starting off as a music streaming service, it’s made its way into the podcasting market, it lets you buy concert tickets, and it even launched its own device (but that was short-lived). Now, Spotify is selling audiobooks on its platform, and there’s an impressive selection.
Spotify announced that it was looking into the audiobook market not too long ago. Since it’s primarily an audio company, it only makes sense that it would dip its toe into the audiobook market eventually.
Spotify has a selection of 300,000 audiobooks to choose from
There’s no doubt that Spotify is going to be major competition for Amazon’s Audible. There are other audiobook services out there, but Spotify is one of the only companies that can put major money behind their venture. Case and point, the streaming service purchased the audiobook distributor Findaway for $119 million. That let us know that the company wanted to invest in the audiobook market.
Now, with that purchase behind it, Spotify is ready to take on Amazon in the market. However, it won’t be easy because so much of the audiobook market is under Amazon’s thumb. According to Amazon, Audible has nearly 500,000 audiobooks and a lot of original content.
Spotify started selling audiobooks in the US today, and it came out of the gate with an impressive 300,000 audiobooks. These are from major publishers like Hachette Book Group, Penguin Random House, and Simon & Schuster. Along with those, there are also independent creators who distribute their own books.
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For the time being, you’ll be able to listen to audiobooks without any ads, but we’re not sure how long that’s going to last. Nir Zicherman, Spotify’s VP and global head of audiobooks and gated content, said that the company is looking into different business models like a subscription or an ad-supported tier.
When you want to buy your book, you’ll need to jump through some hoops. You won’t be able to buy the book using your respective app store. When you want to buy a book, you’ll receive a link via email that will take you to a page to enter your payment information.
If you want to start listening to some audiobooks now, it’s available in the US. Spotify plans on making this feature available to more markets, so you’ll need to stay tuned.