Spotify wants to become the world’s number one audiobook company. During a meeting with investors, the leaders of the application presented their ambitions for this buoyant market. The arrival of Spotify in this sector could have enormous repercussions on the activity of the company, but also on the publishing market.
Spotify, the music application with 400 million users, is looking for a new market in which to establish itself. After taking over the podcast market, Spotify decided to launch the audiobook industry. This Wednesday, company executives assured investors that the “audiobook” market was their “objective project of domination”. The tone is set and the ambitions displayed.
“We believe that All You Can Books, in their various forms, represent a huge opportunity. And everything we’ve done in podcasting, expect us to play to win,” assures Daniel Ek, CEO of Spotify.
Spotify’s desire to become the world leader in audiobooks does not come out of nowhere. Indeed, the music streaming giant has been preparing the ground for several months now. In 2021, Spotify announced the acquisition of Findawayone of the leading audiobook platforms.
Launched in 2005 in Ohio, Findaway claims to have the largest catalog of audiobooks in the world. The platform also collaborates, as a wholesaler, with major distributors in the sector such as Amazon with Audible, Apple or Google. Already at the time, Spotify guaranteed that this takeover would allow it to “revolutionize the audiobook market”.
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Spotify wants to include ads in audiobooks
However, it should be noted that the takeover agreement has not yet been concluded. Indeed, the Antitrust Division of the United States Department of Justice is still examining the contract and its potential effects on the market, in particular to avoid possible monopoly positions.
It is difficult to know which model Spotify intends to adopt for its “Audiobook” activity. It’s a safe bet that a large portion of audiobooks will be free. The CEO also confirmed that the Freemium model will be applied to audiobooks. Dawn Ostroff, Content and Advertising Manager at Spotify, added: “We plan to introduce advertising monetization in audiobooks”.
In other words, users might see their audio playback interspersed with advertisements… Anyway Spotify is thinking big and believes that US audiobook market could be worth $9 billion within the next 5 years. At present, and according to the latest statistical study by the Audio Publisher Association (APA), the Audiobook market currently represents 1.6 billion dollars in the USA.
Source : The Verge
