Spotify has launched a new subscription service for listeners in the United States, which offers 15 hours of audiobook listening for ten bucks a month.
The new Audiobooks Access Tier, will give subscribers access to a digital library of over 200,000 titles and strikes at the heart of the Amazon-owned Audible subscription service.
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Spotify already offers this exact proposition as a perk for Premium subscribers, but this makes the 15 hour audiobook option available to those who’d prioritise listening to books over music and would be willing to pay outright. With the average audiobook lasting around ten hours, users will be able to get through a book and a half a month on this plan.
With the Audiobooks Access Tier, users will be able to subscribe, but continue to listen to music and podcasts via the ad-supported free memberships.
While UK Premium subscribers currently get the free 15-hour allowance, it doesn’t appear as if the company is offering the option to subscribe to audiobooks alone just yet. That much isn’t entirely clear, but it’s likely to do with licensing.
UK audiobook fans can buy an extra 10-hours to top up if their 15-hour allotment expires, whenever they like. However, that too requires a Premium subscription. It’s likely Spotify does expand the offering beyond the US in the weeks to come.
Spotify says it has seen a real uptick in interest in audiobooks from free users since they became available in Premium.
“We’ve seen a 45% increase in free users searching for and interacting with Audiobook content each day. Now we are introducing a new plan option to give our listeners a variety of choices,” Spotify said in a Newsroom post today.
“With this plan and in one app experience, listeners can continue to tune into music and podcasts on our free, ad-supported service, offering a great option for literary enthusiasts who are looking for more audiobook-specific content.”
