In a recent development, Spotify has launched a $9.99 per month option that allows its free users to enjoy its growing collection of audiobooks. This new offering, known as the “Audiobooks Access Tier,” is now available to all customers in the U.S., enabling them to stream up to 15 hours of audiobooks from a vast catalog of over 200,000 titles.
With this addition, free Spotify users gain access to audiobooks alongside their existing ad-supported music and podcast streaming, without requiring a full Spotify subscription.
While the standalone audiobooks plan is priced at $9.99 per month, which is only slightly less than the starting price of a Spotify Premium subscription at $10.99 per month for an individual plan, it serves as an opportunity for Spotify to attract customers who might not be interested in its music offerings or who already use alternative platforms for music streaming. Moreover, this move could enhance the appeal of Spotify’s Premium offering.
By venturing into the audiobook space, Spotify is positioning itself to compete with industry giants like Audible, owned by Amazon. Unlike Audible’s subscription model at $14.95 per month, which provides users with 1 credit to purchase a title from a vast library that includes bestsellers and new releases, Spotify’s $9.99 per month plan offers a set number of hours for listening. With 15 hours of listening time, users can enjoy multiple audiobooks or extended listening sessions compared to the purchase of a single audiobook.
Spotify has observed a 45% surge in free users engaging with audiobook content daily since the introduction of audiobooks for its Premium subscribers, indicating a growing interest in this form of content.
In its recent quarterly report, Spotify witnessed significant user growth, surpassing 600 million monthly active users and over 236 million paid subscribers, a 15% increase year-over-year, despite a price adjustment from $9.99 to $10.99 per month in the U.S. Spotify now stands as the second-largest provider of audiobooks, trailing Audible, although it remains early to assess the full impact of this service on subscriber growth and overall business performance.
