Streaming giant Spotify has announced a major expansion of its audiobook offering. The feature is now rolling out to over 180 countries across Europe, the Americas, the Middle East, Africa and Asia, opening up its catalog to more than 750 million users worldwide. The full rollout will take place over the coming months.
Streaming giant Spotify has announced a major expansion of its audiobook offering. The feature is now rolling out to over 180 countries across Europe, the Americas, the Middle East, Africa and Asia, opening up its catalog to more than 750 million users worldwide. The full rollout will take place over the coming months.
Previously, audiobooks on the platform were available mainly in English-speaking countries (USA, UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand), as well as in Germany, writes TechCrunch.
The platform is adding over 350,000 titles to new markets and has expanded its catalog to 120+ languages. For example, in Spain, users have already gained access to 45,000 books in Spanish.
Spotify partners with over 300 publishers around the world, including giants like Planeta and Mondadori.
In some countries (Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Poland, Chile, Norway, Peru), users with a Premium account receive 12 hours of audiobook listening per month.
A separate subscription provides 15 hours of listening. The company says it has attracted over 1 million subscribers and generates over $100 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR) since launching last year. A student pricing option will also be available in November. Anyone in the world can purchase the audiobook they want individually.
The company is actively integrating innovations for readers and authors. Over the past year, the number of monthly audiobook listeners on Spotify has increased by 40%, and total listening time has increased by 30%.
