Following major expansions to Spotify’s podcast branch, the audio streamer is turning its attention to its audiobooks.
The Sweden-based audio platform said it is focused on bolstering online book discovery and physical ownership. In a release Thursday morning, the company announced a technology called Page Match, where readers can switch between reading a physical copy of a book and listening to the audiobook version of it by scanning the page. Users will also be able to purchase physical books through the platform.
“We believe the future of reading or listening needs to be flexible and fit more seamlessly into people’s lives,” Owen Smith, Spotify’s global head of audiobooks, said in a news release. “Now we’re extending Spotify’s discovery and engagement strengths across both audio and physical formats, so authors can build deeper connections with their audiences and books can follow readers wherever they go.”
When users are physically reading a book (or an e-book), Page Match lets readers pick up where they left off with a quick camera scan. By taking a picture of the page, the new feature will recognize where the reader is in the book and begin playing the audiobook from that page. It also works when a reader wants to switch back from audio to a physical format, with just another quick page scan. This feature will be fully rolled out by the end of the month.
Page Match is fully available for Premium subscribers and Audiobook+ members to use, while free users can acccess the feature when they have purchased an audiobook through Spotify.
In a partnership with Bookshop.org, users in the U.S. and the U.K. can purchase physical books through Spotify in spring. When buying through Spotify, Bookshop.org will route sales to independent bookstores, handle pricing, inventory and order fulfillment.
“We are excited to see the impact Spotify’s scale will have for local bookstores,” said Andy Hunter, the CEO of Bookshop.org in a statement. “By meeting readers where they are and linking to Bookshop.org, Spotify is financially supporting indie booksellers with each purchase.”
Founded in 2006, the company, with a large presence in L.A.’s Arts District, has become the world’s most popular audio streaming subscription service. The platform offers access to more than 100 million tracks, podcasts and audiobooks in over 180 markets. Audiobooks were first added to the streaming service in 2022.
Every month premium subscribers get an allocated number of hours of audiobook listening. This service is available in 22 global markets and has over 500,000 English-language titles. According to Spotify, more than half of eligible Premium users in English-language markets have tried an audiobook on Spotify, with new listeners up 36% and listening hours up 37%.
Because of the demand for audiobooks on the platform, Smith said in the release, Spotify has become “a real growth engine for the publishing industry and changing how people find their next great read.”
Over the past several years, Spotify has worked to grow the streaming platform beyond music. The company has been focused on growing its podcasting division by opening a new recording studio in Hollywood, premiering several shows in partnership with Netflix and expanding its creator monetization program. The service also recently raised prices for premium listeners in the U.S.
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Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: latimes.com
