Spotify has unveiled its latest Audiobooks+ offering, which provides additional audiobook listening hours to Premium subscribers. While the standard Premium subscription includes 15 hours of audiobook streaming per month, the new add-on doubles this allowance, catering especially to heavy audiobook listeners who find the base limit insufficient.
Rolling Out to Select Countries
Currently, Audiobooks+ is gradually being introduced to Premium users in several regions. After initial testing in Canada and Ireland, Spotify is expanding the rollout to parts of Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. However, there is no confirmed timeline for when the United States will receive access to this subscription upgrade.
Audiobooks+ is an optional add-on subscription that complements the existing Premium plan. It provides an extra 15 hours of audiobook listening per month, doubling the total from the regular allotment. For example, users in the United Kingdom can access Audiobooks+ for £9 monthly (about $12). Pricing for other regions may vary once the feature is more widely available.
Spotify’s Premium subscription is known for its high-quality, ad-free streaming experience and includes features like offline playback, personalized AI-generated playlists, and unlimited access to podcasts. The platform is also expanding its audiobook collection, using generative AI to bring more spoken content to users. Additionally, Spotify plans to introduce Lossless audio streaming using the FLAC format, promising better sound quality in the near future.
What The Author Thinks
Offering extra audiobook hours is a sensible step given the growing popularity of spoken content. However, Spotify risks fragmenting its user base by charging an add-on fee for what some may see as a basic feature. For heavy audiobook listeners, it’s a welcome option, but casual users may feel priced out or confused by the tiered listening limits. Clear communication and competitive pricing will be key for Spotify to maintain customer satisfaction and growth in this space.
Featured image credit: FMT
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