Tag: Audiobooks Landing Page

With Audiobooks Launching in the U.S. Today, Spotify Is the Home for All the Audio You Love

September 20, 2022

*Update as of Tuesday, March 21, 2023: Audiobooks are also now available for purchase on Spotify in Canada.

*Update as of Tuesday, November 22, 2022: Audiobooks are also now available for purchase on Spotify in the UK, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand.

The Spotify you know and love is getting a lot bigger with the addition of a catalog of content that users have been requesting for years: audiobooks.

Starting today, Spotify listeners in the U.S. will be able to purchase and listen to more than 300,000 audiobook titles—making our platform a true all-in-one destination for everyone’s listening needs. And we’re excited to launch audiobooks with a brand-new user interface that’s geared specifically for listening to audiobooks and fits them seamlessly alongside the music and podcasts you already listen to and love.

This is just the beginning of Spotify’s audiobooks journey. We’ve been working to create a seamless audiobooks experience, and we’ll continue to build and innovate on this in the future. For the Record sat down with Nir Zicherman, Spotify’s Vice President and Global Head of Audiobooks and Gated Content, to discuss today’s announcement and our vision for audiobooks in the future.

Today, we’re announcing that 300,000 audiobooks are available on Spotify in the U.S. Why are audiobooks the next frontier for us as a company? 

We’ve always believed that the potential for audio is limitless, and we’ve been saying for a while now that our ambition is to be the complete package for everyone’s listening needs. Audiobooks are next to come into the picture because we see a substantial untapped market: While audiobooks represent just a 6%–7% share of the wider book market, the category is growing by 20% year over year. 

But what we’re really excited about is providing a great new experience for listeners—introducing audiobooks to an audience of people who may never have tried them otherwise. By bringing audiobooks to Spotify, we have the opportunity to both grow the space as a whole and enrich listeners’ lives. 

What can listeners expect today? 

Starting today, users in the U.S. can easily find audiobooks on Spotify alongside music and podcasts as a section in their library, in search, and in their curated recommendations on Home. 

Audiobooks will show up with a lock icon on the play button, signaling that they need to be purchased in order to listen. Users who discover audiobooks in the Spotify app will be able to purchase them on a web page. Upon returning to Spotify, the book will be automatically saved in their library and available to listen to whenever they want.

Once listening, there are a number of features that we know from user research are essential for a seamless experience. Listeners can download content for offline listening, and our automatic bookmarking feature saves their place so they can easily pick up where they left off. Speed control is also included, with a variety of options to speed up or slow down the pace. And for listeners who want to share their opinion after listening to a book, we’ve also included a rating feature, which will publicly display the aggregate rating of the book.

What makes Spotify ready and equipped to make a positive impact in the audiobooks space?

Adding an entirely new content format to our service is no small feat. But we’ve done it before with podcasts, and we’re excited to now do the same with audiobooks. We’ve been testing, researching, and listening to figure out how to create the most seamless experience on Spotify. Our hope is that users who find audiobooks in their apps starting today feel that the user experience is obvious—that audiobooks fit in perfectly with how they already use Spotify.

We also have the opportunity to apply our learnings around creators to uplift the authors and publishers whose content is now on Spotify. It’s important for us to deliver a great experience for the people behind the audiobooks we all love, and you can expect that we’ll start providing some exciting creator-facing features soon.

The offering available today in the U.S. is just the first iteration of audiobooks on Spotify. We’ll learn a lot through this launch and leverage those learnings as we enhance the experience with new features, plan for launches in additional markets, and innovate on the format to benefit listeners, authors, and publishers. 

What are some of the opportunities for us as a company around this offering?

We are running faster and are more focused than anyone else in audio. And we believe that audio and long-form content is a much bigger business than what many would have thought. Our expansion into audiobooks is a significant proof-point in that belief. And this is just the beginning.

Just as we did with podcasting, this will introduce a new format to an audience that has never before consumed it, unlocking a whole new segment of potential listeners. This also helps us support even more kinds of creators and connect them with fans that will love their art—which makes this even more exciting. 

What have been some of the challenges in creating and implementing this offering?

As I mentioned earlier, audiobooks are a completely new format for us. While we have substantial learnings around how people want to listen to music and podcasts, we wanted to offer an experience that feels unique to the book format. So it took a lot of research and fine-tuning to build that experience in a way that also feels intuitive to what users expect on Spotify.

We also recognize that there are a lot of features on Spotify, and we had our work cut out for us adding an entirely new content type without making the platform feel crowded. We believe that the solution we came to feels seamless, but we’ll always continue to iterate on the product to address users’ needs.

What is one audiobook you’re particularly excited to listen to? 

Liberation Day by George Saunders. George is one of my all-time-favorite writers, and his newest collection of short stories is due to come out only a few weeks after launch.

George typically narrates his own audiobooks, but this one is particularly exciting because, in addition to his own voice, it will feature a variety of really amazing narrators: Tina Fey, Stephen Root, Michael McKean, and others. I can’t wait to hear it!

Spotify is committed to being the world’s most popular audio streaming service, and the introduction of audiobooks marks yet another milestone in that commitment. Click here to visit our audiobooks hub and discover top titles and authors from our amazing catalog.

Plus, check out the Spotify: Discover This episode going deeper inside the world of audiobooks, featuring interviews with Spotify Global Head of Audiobooks Nir Zicherman, author of NYT bestseller The Atlas Six Olivie Blake, audiobook producer, Grammy winner, and SVP of Content Production at Penguin Random House Audio Dan Zitt, prolific audiobook narrator Julia Whelan, and award-winning audiobook narrator Bahni Turpin.

Spotify Closes Acquisition of Findaway, a Global Leader in Audiobooks

June 16, 2022

Today, we’re excited to share that Spotify has closed the acquisition of Findaway, a global leader in digital audiobook distributions. As our CEO, Daniel Ek, said at our 2022 Investor Day last week, “We believe that audiobooks, in their many different forms, will be a massive opportunity.” Now, with Findaway officially part of the band, we are looking forward to innovating, growing, and rethinking what the audiobooks market can be—together. 

Findaway works across the entire audiobook ecosystem with a platform and offerings that serve authors, publishers, and consumers. Their technology will help propel Spotify into the rapidly growing audiobooks industry with substantial market opportunity: the audiobooks market is expected to grow from $3.3 billion to $15 billion by 2027. Our global head of audiobooks, Nir Zicherman, said in his 2022 Investor Day presentation, “We believe this presents a unique opportunity to introduce music and podcast listeners around the world to audiobooks and drastically expand that market.”

In addition to offering the largest catalog of distributed titles, Findaway has actively worked to democratize audiobooks through leading technology tools that independent authors can use to publish and distribute their stories to new audiences. We plan on accelerating the growth of these tools, with the goal of scaling and expanding the audiobooks market overall.

Findaway’s technology infrastructure will enable Spotify to quickly scale its audiobook catalog and innovate on the experience for consumers, simultaneously providing new avenues for publishers and authors to reach audiences around the globe. Chapter one begins today . . . 

Internet Sensation Quinta Brunson Discusses Her New Memoir and the Music That Inspires Her

June 15, 2021

Quinta Brunson, actor, writer, comedian, and viral meme creator, is adding another job title to the list: author.

She’s known to many for her starring role on Buzzfeed videos and as the “he got money” girl, a meme inspired by the viral video that’s garnered more than 1 million views. She’s also gained accolades from her role on the TV show A Black Lady Sketch Show and is in the midst of creating, producing, and starring in upcoming show Harrity Elementary. Now, the multihyphenate star is celebrating the publication of her new memoir, She Memes Well. The book gives fans an intimate look at her life through a collection of funny personal essays reflecting on her experience rising to viral fame.

To celebrate the publication of her memoir, Quinta channeled her passion for music into curating an exclusive Spotify playlist. For the Record caught up with the author to talk about going viral, the challenges of writing, and her musical inspirations.

Photo credit: The Riker Brothers

As someone who in many ways originated “going viral” and continues to do so, how do you create content that resonates with so many people?

I don’t think that there’s any one specific path. A relatable tweet can go viral, but also a bear attack can go viral. It’s about shock and awe, and there are many ways to achieve that. But I don’t think virality is the most important thing anymore, which I know might be ironic coming from me. Creating content, whether it be something on the internet, TV, music, or something that feels like art, that’s most important. If it goes viral, great. If not, that’s fine, too. It’s really about creating meaningful work.

You’ve said that writing She Memes Well was the hardest thing you’ve ever done. What made it more difficult than other projects you’ve worked on? 

For one, when writing a memoir, you’re making yourself more vulnerable. With the show, I’m creating fictional characters. But here, it’s me I’m putting on the page, so naturally I felt more protective of myself. Plus, the book is going to be out there forever. You can’t go in and change the book after it’s done, so you become super aware of what you’re saying. But I wanted to get over that fear and take risks. If some people don’t like what’s in the book, that’s fine, but these are my truths. I can’t do anything but tell the truth in my book.

Another hard part was that I was writing the book during a very formative time in my life. I was writing from age 27 to 31 and so much of me was changing. Writing a book, you’re supposed to start with ideology and themes. But that’s complicated when your sense of self is still changing. It was a lot of checking in with myself and asking what do I believe? Who am I actually, and what am I putting on the page? And the answer is that I’m different from who I was a month ago. And I want to be able to tell this truth right now. It felt like therapy, but I was my own therapist.

Do you listen to music when you’re writing?

I actually really enjoy listening to classical music when I’m writing because it doesn’t have lyrics. It feels like I have more freedom to write instead of listening to the lyrics. I really enjoy old-school Beethoven; I throw some on and just get with it.

Any favorite artists you listen to when you’re off the clock?

I love music so much. It’s just so formative to my spirit. I’m a big fan of the group The Internet—always will be, always have been. Other favorites are Solange, Frank Ocean, Hiatus Kaiyote, Little Dragon, and Noname. There’s an artist named Amindi whose music I hope gets more plays. Thundercat, I can throw him on any time. Stevie Wonder, I think he absolutely is the best artist of all time. And Aretha Franklin, she’s on play a lot, as is Ms. Lauryn Hill.

 And definitely Anderson .Paak. I was so happy about Anderson .Paak and Bruno Mars forming Silk Sonic. You know when you feel like something was done personally for you? I feel like they did that collaboration for me. Separately, they’re two of my favorite artists, and when they formed a band—I just couldn’t even. That was one of the few things that happened in 2020 that brought me joy.

You curated a playlist to pair alongside your new book. How did you choose the songs for it?

The playlist is really fun! I wanted to create a list of songs I mentioned in my book in the order that they’re mentioned so it would feel like people are taking the same journey I took. The first song I danced to at dance school was the Space Jam theme song by Quad City DJ’s, “Space Jam,” so I wanted that to be the playlist’s musical introduction to the book because it’s fun and represents my childhood. Then it grows into more mature songs, some ballads, some heartbreakers, and some songs from Stevie Wonder that fit in that world in all types of different ways. Really, I wanted people to be able to experience the journey of the book in playlist form the same way you have a soundtrack for a movie. 

If you had to pick one song to represent the book, what would it be?

You know what song I think about a lot? The theme song to the TV show Big Mouth, “Changes” by Charles Bradley. It’s very simple, the lyrics are just “I’m going through changes,” but I think that song is a good representation of this book. I talk a lot in She Memes Well about evolution and allowing myself to change throughout my life. I think part of growing up is letting yourself go through those changes and not resist them. I also talk about it through memes and how memes evolve on social media. I love hearing that song when the show comes on because it just touches your heart.

Explore Quinta’s curated playlist, inspired by her new memoir She Memes Well, below.

Music Brings Elio and Oliver Together in Andre Aciman’s ‘Call Me By Your Name’ Sequel, ‘Find Me’

October 24, 2019

Classical music aficionados know to look forward to the cadenza—an often-improvised ornamental solo found in concerti performances or compositions. Often unmetered, written in a “free” rhythmic style, and completely unique, the cadenza is also at the heart of André Aciman’s new book, Find Me. The sequel to his 2007 novel, Call Me By Your Name, Find Me re-introduces two beloved characters, Elio and Oliver, and reestablishes the importance of music—cadenzas included—in their world and ours. 

To celebrate the release of Find Me on October 29, Aciman created his own Find Me Spotify playlist, which reflects the soundtrack to the 2017 Call Me By Your Name movie directed by Luca Guadagnino. 

Aciman’s Call Me By Your Name centers on a 17-year-old pianist named Elio and 24-year-old grad student named Oliver, two young men who come together unexpectedly for one romantic, bliss-filled summer in Italy. Aciman’s much-anticipated sequel, Find Me, revisits the men 10, 15, and 20 years later, when Elio has become a professional musician in Paris and Oliver is a tenured professor in New England. Aciman explains that part of the plot involves a cadenza that was performed—and supposedly lost—during the Holocaust that is passed down as a gift and expression of love from one man to another.

Both the movie soundtrack and Aciman’s playlist combine classical sonatas and Bach compositions with original songs from singer-songwriter Sufjan Stevens, as well as ’80s rock. “Elio . . . is, after all, a kid, and he should be interested in rock and roll and contemporary music,” Aciman explained in an exclusive For The Record interview. “But he’s also a kid who’s grown up with traditional music. The classical, mature music of the film represents both Oliver’s older age and the family’s long classical tradition.”

This musical taste reflects Aciman’s own. “By the time I was 10 years old, I was already very interested in classical music,” he said. “I was a big fan of The Rolling Stones, The Yardbirds, and The Beatles when I was young. I loved that stuff, but it was always classical music that I would sort of lean to in the end.” The multilingual Aciman noted that he also listens to French, Italian, and British rock.