By Jude Barrera ’24
Staff Writer
Spotify recently announced a new benefit for Premium users that would give them free access to audiobooks for a total of 15 hours each month.
The new feature, announced on Oct. 3, will make more than 150,000 audiobooks on the platform available for Premium users – though this does not include Spotify’s entire audiobook catalog.
Titles not included in the Premium offer can be bought individually. After listening for 15 hours, users can choose to buy a title, wait for the month to roll over for another free 15 hours or pay for access to an additional 10 hours. Users in Australia and the United Kingdom have had access to this feature since its launch in early October. The feature is anticipated to drop in the United States later this year.
The announcement comes after a period of substantial change for the music-streaming service. In recent times, Spotify has attempted to incorporate audiobooks into their platform, raised their prices and begun a journey into the world of artificial intelligence. Its first foray into audiobooks was in September 2022 with its individual purchasing system.
In July 2023, Spotify raised their prices for all Premium plans by $1 for individual plans and $2 for family plans, the first change in over a decade, according to an article from The A.V. Club. In late February of this year, they rolled out their AI DJ feature, mimicking the feel of a personalized radio show using each user’s Spotify data.
Spotify’s new hour-based listening system is unique in comparison to other popular platforms. Before this, fans of audiobooks could look to Audible or Apple Books. Both of these apps have an individual purchase system, and Audible has a subscription system that unlocks various perks, like discounts on audiobooks and one free audiobook per month. Similar to the other sites, interested listeners can purchase audiobooks individually but must do so in their Spotify browser.
The new system has led to some trepidation among authors and readers alike. In an interview for The New York Times, Kim Scott, author of the career coaching advice book “Radical Candor,” compared Spotify’s model for audiobooks to Apple introducing a pay-by-song model with iTunes.
Scott was concerned that a by-the-hour model could devalue the work that goes into writing a book. According to The New York Times, Scott had declined to put her latest book, “Just Work,” into Spotify’s Premium catalog when asked by her publisher. While “Just Work” is unavailable to be listened to for free by Premium subscribers, it is still available for individual purchase through Spotify.
Other authors were added to Spotify’s by-the-hour catalog by their publishers without notice. The Society of Authors, a U.K. trade union for authors, released a statement that said, “As far as we are aware, no authors or agents have been approached for permission for such licenses.” The SoA then expressed concern regarding the streaming model for audiobooks, stating, “We know the devastating effect that music streaming has had on artists’ incomes, and the impact of streaming and subscription video-on-demand platforms on screenwriter incomes and their working conditions.”
One Mount Holyoke College student, Genevieve Breen ’27, shared their thoughts on how Spotify could impact the audiobook world.
“I think if publishers are going to have to make audiobooks accessible on Spotify, there’s going to be a change in the way audiobooks are produced,” Breen said in an interview with the Mount Holyoke News. “Because you’re not just competing with other audiobooks, you’re competing with thousands of audio dramas and podcasts that are already well established and by design are more engaging than just listening to one person read aloud.”
For stories in the public domain, where copyright is not a concern, competition is strong. For example, a search for “Dracula” on Spotify results in a variety of audiobooks, but also a variety of podcasts with readings of the public domain novel “Dracula.” One of these results offers readings of multiple books with a rain sound effect in the background to ease the listener into sleep. Spotify itself will list episodes from podcast suggestions in search results prior to listing its audiobook suggestions.
“I’ve been following an audiobook that’s on Spotify called ‘Re: Dracula.’ … It’s free and accessible on Spotify because the original book is in the public domain,” Breen said.
“What grabbed me was the extremely high production quality. It’s extremely similar to a scripted podcast … with actual actors playing different characters and the use of sound effects,” she said. “‘Re: Dracula’” is classified as a podcast on Spotify and is produced by Bloody FM, a horror-themed podcast network. On their own website, they classify “Re: Dracula” as an “audio drama” rather than an audiobook. Spotify has many audiobook-centered podcasts that do not count toward the monthly 15 hours Premium users will be allotted.
Books that aren’t in the public domain, like the new releases and celebrity memoirs that are suggested when browsing Spotify’s audiobook section, will have less competition due to copyright protections. Breen, however, still had concerns about the usage of non-public domain books.
“I’m worried about how this will affect authors. The relationship between an author’s income and the revenue their books generate is much stronger than, say, an actor and a film they’re in. … I hope that this change doesn’t mean that authors will be [paid a] pittance every time their books are streamed,” Breen said, echoing the concerns of the SoA.
With the feature being out for just a month in the United Kingdom and Australia and no exact date for when it will be released in the United States, it is unclear how drastically this will affect consumer habits and the audiobook market overall.