Spotify is locking horns with Amazon’s Audible, with the launch of its audiobook service in the United States.
Spotify users in the country will have access to over 300,000 audiobook titles, the Swedish firm said in a blog on Tuesday.
Users will be able to browse the catalog on the Spotify app and purchase through the website, it added, similar to the purchase of Spotify subscription.
The audiobooks market was estimated at $4.8 billion (roughly Rs. 38,300 crore) in 2021 and was expected to grow at about 14 percent compound annual growth rate to $9.3 billion by 2026, according to media consultancy Omdia.
Spotify has charted an aggressive expansion path as it looks to supplement its earnings from music streaming with other revenue-generating formats such as podcasts, on which it has spent more than $1 billion (roughly Rs. 8,000 crore) to add popular names such as Joe Rogan to its roster.
Last month, Spotify began testing a service that would allow it to sell concert tickets directly to fans. Concert tickets would be sold via the Spotify app and a new website, according to a report. Spotify’s website had reportedly revealed that it would sell tickets on behalf of third parties, which could include venues and event promoters, among others.
At the time, Spotify’s website for selling concert tickets was limited to a selection of US-based concerts. These included concerts for artists like Limbeck, Tokimonsta, and Annie DiRusso. Buyers would be required to create a Spotify account in order to buy tickets, according to the report. The music streaming service had also partnered with Ticketmaster, Eventbrite, and See Tickets to sell tickets via its latest Live Event Feed, according to report by TechCrunch.
© Thomson Reuters 2022