Spotify this week launched a new audiobook catalog, making more than 300,000 titles available for US listeners to purchase. Browse books from authors like Stephen King, Malcolm Gladwell, Taylor Jenkins Reid, Michelle Obama, J.R.R. Tolkien, and more via Your Library, Search, and curated recommendations in Home.
Titles are locked until purchased, though folks can take advantage of short audio samples before clicking buy. You can't buy audiobooks through Spotify's apps, likely so the company can avoid paying Apple and Google a cut of in-app purchases. But once you buy an audiobook on the web, it'll be synced to your account and you can listen from the Spotify apps.
On the web and the apps, click on an audiobook cover to see details like publication date, length, narrator(s), and description; scroll down for access to individual chapters. Supported feaures include offline listening, automatic bookmarking, and speed control. Folks are also invited to add a star rating from one to five that will be factored into the book's aggregate grade.
This audiobook debut comes about a year after Spotify acquired digital audiobook distributor Findaway, and a few months after Spotify CEO Daniel Ek teased a "fully-fledged platform where artists and creators can create, engage, and earn."
"We've always believed that the potential for audio is limitless, and we've been saying for a while now that our ambition is to be the complete package for everyone's listening needs," Nir Zicherman, Spotify's VP and global head of audiobooks, said this week.
"Our hope is that users who find audiobooks in their apps starting today feel that the user experience is obvious—that audiobooks fit in perfectly with how they already use Spotify," accoridng to Zicherman, who tipped plans for additional markets, new features, and more benefits to listeners, authors, and publishers.
Not sure what to listen to? Spotify curated lists of "Great first audiobooks," "Buzzworthy books," "Quick listens," and "Celebrity titles," as well as collections of Latinx, Black, AAPI, and LGBTQIA+ voices. Alternatively, users can search for specific titles or authors, or hope for the best from the algorithm's suggestions.
"This is just the beginning of Spotify's audiobooks journey," the company says. "We've been working to create a seamless audiobooks experience, and we'll continue to build and innovate on this in the future."