Spotify is offering an free audiobook upgrade for Premium subscribers.
Spotify is offering an free audiobook upgrade for Premium subscribers.
The streaming platform has unveiled plans for a new perk which is already available for users in the UK and Australia, while a US rollout is coming in the winter.
As revealed by Spotify Vice President David Kaefer, the new feature will let Premium subscribers get 15 hours of audiobooks each month from a library of 150,000 titles.
The collection will include huge books from big publishers, while more titles will be “constantly” added as part of a rotation.
Kaefer told TechRader: “[We’re] trying to build a product that has broad appeal, and we’re gonna have people who are both super-fans of audiobooks, we’re gonna have casual fans, and we’re gonna have people who are new to the format.
“And so trying to strike a balance there is important… The average audiobook is seven to 10 hours, so you should be able to get through one or two books without hitting the cap.”
The 15-hour limit has been based on testing, and Spotify feels it is a “generous” amount.
Users who run out of time will be able to top up with a further 10 hours for £9.99, and these can be carried over until you’ve used them within a year.
However, the regular 15 hours included in your Premium subscription won’t roll over.
Meanwhile, some titles will disappear as new ones join, in a similar manner to Netflix and Prime Video.
He explained: “Some of that’s by necessity.
“Sometimes a publisher loses the rights to distribute a particular book, and sometimes it may be because it’s not popular, or we may not have an agreement in place with a given publisher.
“But we expect that there’s going to be a lot of stability in the catalog overall.”
Spotify launches free audiobook upgrade for Premium users
