Spotify Launches Audiobooks in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg-and Premium Listeners Get Instant Access

14/10/2024

Since its launch just over a year ago, Spotify's Audiobooks in Premium offering has helped introduce the format to an entirely new audience across the U.S., Canada, U.K., Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand. We're seeing more listeners try audiobooks for the first time and embrace new and different books, with hundreds of thousands of unique titles streamed.

Today, we're thrilled to announce that listeners in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg will now have access to audiobooks, which includes exciting work from local authors such as Ga l Faye, Maylis de Kerangal, Jo l Dicker, Suzanne Vermeer, and Saskia Noort, to name a few.

Eligible Spotify Premium subscribers in those countries will be able to access more than 200,000 audiobook titles as part of their subscriptions. Any title not included in our Audiobooks in Premium offering can be purchased la carte. Listeners in these regions without a Premium subscription can also purchase any title on Spotify.

In partnership with publishers from across these markets, Spotify, the world's most popular audio streaming subscription service, has the potential to grow the size of the audiobook industry overall. We are enabling more listeners than ever to discover and engage with a rich catalog of titles, including in their own language, and paving the way for future innovation of the audiobook format.

Spotify's reach presents a significant opportunity to expand the audiobooks market across France, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg, said Antoine Monin, Managing Director, Spotify Western Europe. Since our launch in Western Europe 16 years ago, Spotify has evolved into a leading platform for music, podcasts, and now audiobooks. We are proud to spotlight this region's rich literary tradition, with 15,000 French and 15,000 Dutch and Flemish titles joining our catalog, advancing our mission to empower audio creators globally and connect them with audiences both locally and internationally.

One year of Audiobooks in Premium While it's still early days, the reaction to Audiobooks in Premium from authors, publishers, and listeners in available markets has been remarkable. On Spotify, we've seen user engagement increase among listeners who started an audiobook for the first time. In the U.S., these users spend an average of five additional hours on Spotify over their first two months after starting a book.

This launch opens up new opportunities for local authors and rights holders and helps create an additional revenue stream for the industry. With 28% of Spotify's users located in Europe, we'll continue investing in and growing the available audience and revenue pies for publishers and authors.

Spotify announced this latest expansion today in Paris with a panel featuring voices from across the industry: Laure Saget, CEO of Hachette's Audiolib and Audiobook Commission President at the French Publishers Association, Liza Faja, Head of Lizzie, the audiobook imprint of Editis, ric Marbeau, Head of Digital Distribution at Madrigall, parent company of ditions Gallimard and Editions Flammarion, and Timoth e Borne, CEO of the immersive audio content production company Blynd Media.

NEXT

This is a big moment for our Audiobooks in Premium offering in bringing French, Dutch, and Flemish titles to our growing catalog, said David Kaefer, Head of Music and Audiobooks Business at Spotify. I'm excited to share this news today as we've been working closely with publishers to build our catalog to unlock more audio experiences for our subscribers in Western Europe. This launch is a step toward growing the pie for everyone in the industry, supporting authors in finding new audiences, and making it easier for people to discover the audiobooks format.

How to find a story you'll love We're offering each Premium individual subscriber, as well as plan managers for Family and Duo accounts, 12 hours of listening per month in these new markets. Any book marked Included in Premium is available-just hit play and dive right in. Bookworms who use up their 12 hours before their monthly billing cycles refresh can purchase a 10-hour top-up for 9.99.

Listeners can easily explore audiobook recommendations from our Home feed, or head to our Audiobooks hub to find an editorially curated selection of top titles. Shelves highlighting popular genres and playlists make it even easier to dive into your favorite kind of literature.

From beloved classics to riveting memoirs and everything in between, we're excited to keep delivering immersive experiences that deepen the connection between authors and listeners. And with books now seamlessly integrated alongside music and podcasts on a single platform for even more listeners, we're advancing our vision for making Spotify the destination for all things audio.

Head to Spotify to find your next great listen.

LINK:	https://newsroom.spotify.com/2024-10-14/audiobooks-launch-france-belgi...
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