Nearly a month after announcing its foray into the audiobook space, Spotify is finally rolling out its audiobook service to Premium subscribers in the United States. And although the platform claims to provide free access to over 70% of bestselling titles for users to enjoy, there is a catch.
How does the system work?
According to Spotify, the process of getting your favourite audiobook is pretty simple. Users can search for titles or navigate through the audiobook hub, add the desired books to their library, and begin listening. Additionally, to simplify the process further, out of the 200,000 audiobooks available for free to Premium users, the company will clearly mark audiobooks accessible for streaming with an “Included in Premium” tag.
Although Spotify claims to cover a wide range of books, from celebrity memoirs like Britney Spears’ “The Woman in Me” to works such as Jesmyn Ward’s “Let Us Descend,” not all audiobooks are free for streaming, thus requiring a direct purchase from the user.
A slew of restrictions
Unlike Audible, which offers unrestricted access, Spotify’s audiobook service imposes a limit of 15 hours of listening per month. Once a user reaches the limit, they must wait until the following month to continue listening or pay $12.99 for an additional 10 hours. Additionally, it is important to note that listening to past audiobooks also counts toward the allocated time, and users can neither carry over unused hours to the next month nor adjust the playback speed of a free audiobook.
Furthermore, the 15-hour listening limit applies to only one member of the Duo and Family plans, leaving the rest to rely on the costly $12.99 option.
“We’ll be working on more ways to unlock access to Premium audiobooks in the future, but for now, primary account holders on Family and Duo plans will receive the monthly audiobooks allocation,” reads Spotify’s blog post.
How does this system compare to other streaming apps?
When comparing Audible and Spotify, both have chosen a different path to audiobooks. This is because Audible offers a premium subscription at $15 a month, granting users access to popular bestsellers and the ability to permanently own these books. However, unlike Spotify, Audible users are limited to one book credit per month, thus requiring additional purchases for more titles.
2023-11-09 15:05:47