Spotify has gone from one of the best music streaming services, to one of the most-used platforms for audiobooks — and now it’s taking its literary offerings to the next level.
Exactly three years after Spotify launched audiobooks, the streamer is marking the anniversary by launching an audiobook rollout process including market expansion, new languages, and more. Earlier this week, I attended a press briefing where Spotify unveiled the changes coming to audiobooks, and today (October 7) the company took to the stage at the Frankfurt Book Fair to make the public announcement.
Since Spotify introduced audiobooks, availability has been limited to just 22 markets across the world. By the end of the year, however, Spotify says audiobooks will become available in over 180 markets, meaning that over 750 million users across Italy, Spain, Portugal, Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Poland, Chile, Norway, Peru, as well as regions in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia will be able to stream and purchase audiobooks right from Spotify — a massive jump to say the least, but it doesn’t stop there.
For upcoming audiobooks, Spotify will offer countdown pages similar to new album releases, allowing subscribers to pre-save an author’s work so that it appears in their Library on the publication day. ‘It’s incredibly effective at building anticipation and driving day-one listening,’ said Duncan Bruce, Director of Audiobook Partnerships and Licensing.
In addition to Spotify’s ambitious audiobook expansion, bookworms in the new regions will have direct access to over 350,000 titles, spanning new languages including Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Polish, and more.
Source link







