Does Spotify sell audiobooks?
If you’re a long-time member of Spotify, you probably use CEO Daniel Ek’s service for two things: music and podcasts. These areas are the bread and butter of the streaming service. And as an audiobook enthusiast, you probably used something like Amazon’s Audible, Apple Books, and similar a la carte services to listen to your favorite audiobook titles.
However, now Spotify offers it all. Let’s explore the shift in platform offerings.
You can buy audiobooks on Spotify
Spotify now sells audiobooks. Words not many people thought they’d hear, given the streaming service’s strict business model. However, the music streaming platform made a significant change in 2022.
The expansion into uncharted territory is, to a large degree, the brainchild of vice-president Nir Zicherman, the company’s global head of audiobooks and gated content.
The platform added audiobooks as a new product to accompany its music and podcasts. However, don’t think your audiobook experience will vastly improve because Spotify entered this substantial untapped market.
You won’t benefit from a subscription model similar to Audible. Instead, you can buy audiobooks and listen to them in your Spotify App.
Essentially, Spotify lets users stream a short preview of an audiobook. They can buy it to unlock the gated content if they like it. Nevertheless, Spotify’s renowned audio quality can make for a good audiobook app, and it can certainly add more diversity to its users’ playlists.
Spotify purportedly offers over 300,000 titles. While it’s not close to matching a service like Audible, it’s still a valiant effort. However, there are some kinks that Spotify should fix to attract more audiobook lovers.
The steps for buying audiobooks on Spotify
No one would judge you if you wanted to wait longer before sampling audiobooks on Spotify. But if you want to make a purchase, here’s what you need to know.
At the time of writing, Spotify only allows the purchase of audiobooks from the web app. That means Android and iOS users can’t buy and stream audiobooks on-the-fly.
The good news is that you own the book forever once you buy it. In addition, you can enjoy offline streaming and don’t need a premium Spotify subscription to purchase audiobooks. Think of it as a separate service from the primary business model.
Unfortunately, being a premium Spotify subscriber doesn’t offer any perks or discounts. Therefore, using Spotify as an audiobook app can come down to a matter of personal preference.
Search for your favorite title using the “Find Audiobook” feature on the Spotify web page to buy a book. Once you own it, you can do offline listening on your iPhone, iPad, and Android phone.
However, as a newcomer to the audiobook market, Spotify doesn’t have the best pricing policy. Its curated recommendations may have popular audiobook titles and even a few unique narrations, but it’s still easier to find better deals on other platforms.
The best audiobooks on Spotify
If you want to know what Spotify offers, here are some titles that might cater to your listening needs:
- Me by Elton John
- The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
- The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina series by Sarah Rees Brennan
- The Foundation Series by Isaac Asimov
- The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
- Solar Bones by Mike McCormack
- Becoming by Michelle Obama
Of course, Spotify has some original titles, too, including classic works such as:
- Frankenstein, narrated by David Dobrik
- The Awakening, narrated by Hilary Swank
- Great Expectations, narrated by James Langton
- Jane Eyre, narrated by Sarah Coombs
- Passing narrated, by Bahni Turpin
- Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, narrated by Forest Whitaker
- Persuasion, narrated by Cynthia Erivo
Speechify Audiobooks - Listen to thousands of best-selling audiobooks
If you need to take a break from Amazon’s Audible and Spotify isn’t impressive enough, we have an alternative service. Speechify Audiobooks is the platform for audiobook enthusiasts who value great stories, amazing audio quality, and diverse audiobook collections.
You can use Speechify to listen to bestsellers and popular audiobook series. Find titles from renowned authors and narrators, like Stephen King, Oprah Winfrey, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Brandon Sanderson, Jocko Willink, Viola Davis, and many more.
You can buy your favorite titles or listen to hundreds of books free of charge. Get it from the App Store, as a browser extension, or whatever version matches your device and platform preferences.
Try Speechify Audiobooks, get a feel for the app, and own your first premium audiobook for free.
FAQ
Can I get audiobooks on Spotify?
You can buy audiobooks on Spotify and choose between around 300,000 titles.
Why can't I buy audiobooks on Spotify?
One reason you can’t get audiobooks through in-app purchases is that Spotify doesn’t want to pay commissions to Google and Apple for any sales.
Are all audiobooks on Spotify locked?
All Spotify audiobooks are gated content. But although you can unlock them by purchasing, you can also sample audiobooks before buying.
Where do I find audiobooks on Spotify?
You can find audiobooks by using the Spotify website search function to look for specific titles. Alternatively, look for the Audiobooks category to browse for titles manually.
Does Spotify have free audiobooks?
Spotify doesn’t have any free audiobooks for subscribers or freemium users.
How much does it cost to buy audiobooks on Spotify?
Spotify may charge up to $10 or more than other audiobook services. That includes standalone prices, not only discounted titles offered to subscribers.
When did Spotify start selling audiobooks?
Spotify dabbled with the idea of selling audiobooks in 2019. However, it didn’t make significant moves in this direction until buying the audiobook platform, Findaway in 2021. It took another year until Spotify launched its audiobook service for U.S. users.
