One the heels of Amazon Music announcing it is adding a new feature allowing subscribers to listen to audiobooks from sister Audible, rival Spotify says it has inked a new partnership with Bloomsbury, one of the largest publishers in the UK. The deal will give Spotify users access to more than 1,000 new titles from Bloomsbury’s catalog.
“As we celebrate the one-year anniversary of Audiobooks in Premium, there’s no better way to build on our momentum than with the addition of Bloomsbury’s beloved library,” said Duncan Bruce, Director of Audiobook Partnerships and Licensing at Spotify. “This partnership allows us to expand our author lineup and give listeners an even wider array of titles to enjoy, taking us another step forward in our goal of reimagining the audiobook experience.”
Spotify users will have access to more than 1,000 new titles from Bloomsbury’s repertoire of audiobooks, including an array of stellar titles from authors including Sarah J. Maas, William Dalrymple, Alan Moore, Madeline Miller, Dan Jones, Samantha Shannon, and Ann Patchett, with narrations from top-tier voice talent such as Meryl Streep, Emilia Clarke, Adjoa Andoh, and Jamie Lee Curtis.
“We are delighted to be partnering with Spotify to bring our catalog of audiobooks to even more listeners,” said Sam Halstead, Director of Audio at Bloomsbury. “We feel confident that this partnership will help to introduce a whole new generation of listeners to audiobooks for years to come.”
Spotify first announced the addition of Audiobooks in 2022, giving subscribers of its premium service access to 15 hours of audiobook listening per month. During a conference call with investors this month, CEO Daniel Ek said in the U.S. users are averaging more than five hours of audiobook listening. Since launching audiobooks, Spotify says it has also paid hundreds of millions of dollars to publishers.
Amazon Music this week said it would tap Audible to begin offering audiobook listening access to Amazon Music Unlimited subscribers in the U.S., Canada and the UK. Subscribers will be able to listen to one book a month from sister Audible’s library of content. Customers who want more beyond their monthly listen can subscribe to an Audible membership or purchase titles a la carte directly from the Audible app.
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