Spotify have given Premium users in the US free listening to audiobooks, expanding the library available to them and others.
It’s a good day to be an audiobook listener in the US. Spotify have just added free listening on thousands of audiobooks for Premium listeners in the US. But there are limits to the listening.
In October, Spotify introduced free audiobook listens to Premium users in the UK and Australia. Users gained access to 15 hours of listening each month. Users could use their hours on over 150,000 audiobooks available through the Spotify platform. With the launch of audiobooks in the US, Spotify have increased the available library to include over 200,000 audiobooks.
This includes brand new bestsellers like Britney Spears’ autobiography The Woman in Me. From new releases to classics, titles include Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights. In fact, Spotify claim that over 70% of bestselling titles are included for Premium listeners.
As mentioned, Premium listeners are limited to 15 hours of free audiobook listening each month. If they reach their limit, users have the option to pay for extra hours or to buy the audiobook outright. Not everyone who pays for Spotify in these territories will have free audiobook listens either.
Only plan managers in group Spotify accounts have access to free hours on audiobooks. This means that users on Duo and Family will still have to pay to listen to audiobooks on Spotify, unless they manage the plan. Spotify have said that they are looking into how to bring audiobooks to more users.
Who listens to audiobooks?
To highlight how important they feel their new feature is, Spotify have researched audiobook fandom. Talking to consumers across the US, they wanted to find out what audiobooks mean to them in 2023.
They found that 72% of those between 18-34 years old listen to audiobooks. 66% of those listeners who were in relationships said they’d also listened to audiobooks with their partner. Spotify proposes that they do it to ‘spice things up’…
70% of audiobook listeners are more likely to listen to other audio content after listening to audiobooks. 37% of audiobook listeners have listened to a full audiobook twice or more.
Nearly half of audiobook listeners like to get into a story whilst traveling or on holiday. People get good vibes from audiobooks. with just over half of listeners associating them with comfort. 63% said that audiobooks means relaxation to them.
Spotify said: “We believe that offering personalized music and podcasts, and the best audiobooks on a single platform, gives you a superior way enjoy more than 100 million tracks, 5 million podcasts, and 200,000 audiobooks—and to connect with your favorite artists, podcasters, creators, and authors—all in one spot.”
Here are some audiobook collections to get you started:
