U.S. Book Show 2024: Spotify Is Ready to Shake Up the Audio Market

The world’s hottest streaming service has expanded into audiobooks, with a set of providers to supply publishers, authors, and brokers and with a listening base hungry for audiobook content material.

Spotify, launched in 2008, has lengthy been a pacesetter amongst audio streaming platforms, and as of 2022, along with providing an unlimited library of music and podcasts, it has expanded into audiobooks to pick out markets. Its choices within the class embody diversifications of recent and established favorites in addition to audiobook productions by way of its in-house imprint, Spotify Audiobooks. Owen Smith, V.P. of Product and Technology for Audiobooks at Spotify, spoke with PW in regards to the firm’s modern method to distribution, the way it helps authors and publishers, and the thrill of connecting readers with dynamic listening experiences.

What was behind Spotify’s choice to develop into audiobooks?

Our listeners had been asking us so as to add audiobooks for years, and many people inside the corporate are additionally avid audiobook listeners, so it began there. Beyond that, we noticed a format that was deserving of a wider viewers and an trade that we felt may and needs to be a lot larger than it’s. When we first launched podcasts, we had the identical perception, and we made a wager that individuals would get pleasure from having the whole lot obtainable in a single app as an alternative of needing to have many various providers for every kind of content material. With audiobooks, we leaned into this concept even additional, making audiobooks obtainable in the identical app and in our Premium product to make sure as many individuals as doable may uncover their subsequent favourite e-book.

Can you touch upon the growth of the audiobook market in recent times? What drives the ever-increasing demand for audiobooks?

It’s a extremely attention-grabbing time the place we’re seeing that the way in which folks eat audiobooks—and likewise information and leisure extra broadly—is evolving, particularly amongst youthful generations. For instance, I not too long ago noticed an APA survey that confirmed that rising numbers of Gen Z and millennial listeners try audiobooks, and we’re seeing that mirrored on Spotify as nicely—virtually 60% of audiobook listeners on Spotify are between the ages of 18 and 34. So, a part of the expansion comes from a brand new viewers discovering that audiobooks exist and that they just like the format. We’re making audiobooks accessible to as many individuals as doable on our platform, the place greater than half a billion persons are already listening to music and podcasts. Making the content material obtainable the place folks wish to hearken to it’s crucial.

How can publishing homes, literary brokers, and authors profit from partnering with Spotify for his or her audiobook wants?

Our goal is to push all the trade ahead for the advantage of authors, publishers, and brokers, and there are issues we will provide these companions that make us stand out and are helpful to everybody. First, we consider in broad distribution, so even for authors and publishers distributing with us, we wish them to have the ability to attain the most important doable viewers—on and off our platform. Second, simply as we’ve carried out for musical artists and podcasters, we’re giving authors and publishers extra perception into their current audiences and higher instruments to market and promote themselves to new audiences. A latest instance of that is Countdown Pages for audiobooks, which we not too long ago launched. It permits followers to pre-save upcoming audiobooks and depend right down to their launch. Finally, we’re dedicated to listening to our companions’ wants, so we wish our partnerships with authors, brokers, and publishers to be a dialogue the place we hear what issues we have to remedy and may work on them collectively.

How is Spotify establishing itself as a pacesetter inside the audiobook trade?

Spotify is already identified and cherished by listeners for its personalization and discovery merchandise, and we’re bringing all of this expertise to Audiobooks in order that Spotify is the most effective audiobook discovery expertise. We consider that many individuals haven’t tried an audiobook just because they’ve by no means discovered the precise audiobook, and this can be a drawback we all know we will remedy. In music and podcasts, merchandise like AI DJ, Daylist, and Discover Weekly have made Spotify a beloved model with creators and listeners all over the world and have helped listeners uncover so many new favorites. We’re constructing on the years of funding in these merchandise and algorithms for audiobooks too.

Last autumn, we launched Audiobooks in Premium, which provides eligible Spotify Premium subscribers entry to fifteen hours of audiobook content material per 30 days. This method is a good way to introduce the format to new audiences, and we already realize it’s working. We’ve seen greater than 1 / 4 of our eligible Premium subscribers hearken to an audiobook by way of their Premium subscription, and we’re seeing extra titles being consumed than ever earlier than. So far, greater than 150,000 distinctive books from our catalog of 250,000 titles have been streamed since launch. We nonetheless have a lot extra we plan to do—extra markets to introduce Spotify Audiobooks to, and extra options to launch—so these early indicators are an thrilling signal of what’s to come back.

What type of aggregated information insights does Spotify present to shoppers?

We consider that among the finest methods to help authors and publishers is to provide them entry to insights to allow them to perceive their audiences. Right now, we offer authors and publishers with analytics and aggregated demographic data to allow them to see, for instance, the age and demographic data of who’s listening to their titles on Spotify. Looking forward, we’ve constructed merchandise like Spotify for Artists and Spotify for Podcasters to provide artists and podcast creators entry to much more complete insights and advertising options, and you’ll anticipate us to discover related instruments for authors and publishers as nicely.

Does Spotify produce audiobook? What are you able to share in regards to the technique of buying and creating these titles?

We have an in-house publishing imprint referred to as Spotify Audiobooks, and have been working immediately with brokers, authors, and narrators to license and produce audiobooks. We see this program as a technique to give authors who aren’t fascinated by self-publishing a path to getting extra of their tales into the audiobook format and to attach with the viewers we’ve listening on Spotify.

For each historically revealed and indie authors partnering with Spotify, how does the platform assist them to succeed in new readers/listeners?

More than half a billion customers belief Spotify to advocate their subsequent nice hear. They belief us as a result of we’ve spent years growing world-class suggestion algorithms for audio content material, all working towards one easy objective: delivering the precise content material, to the precise listener, on the proper time. This is one thing we’re constantly investing in. To provide you with an instance, we’re seeing lots of success with authors who seem on podcasts to advertise their audiobooks. In March, when RuPaul went on Alex Cooper’s Call Her Daddy to advertise his e-book The House of Hidden Meanings, his audiobook noticed an general 34% enhance in listening week-over-week following the looks. We wish to preserve testing and scaling merchandise and instruments like this so that each writer and writer has the help they should discover new listeners on Spotify.

From your perspective, what does the longer term appear to be for audiobooks?

I’m very optimistic about the way forward for audiobooks. At the macro degree, I hope that each e-book turns into listenable as an audiobook. Beyond that, I believe software program allows us to reimagine what’s doable with the format itself, and we consider we will create richer and extra dynamic audiobook experiences that allow authors to specific themselves in methods they’ve by no means been capable of earlier than.

The excellent news is that authors will all the time have tales to share. Our job is to make sure that no matter expertise will get constructed really helps them—to develop, be heard, and join extra authentically with their readers and followers.

Back to the U.S. Book Show 2024 present information.