Spotify brings audiobooks to India, but users must pay extra
What's the story
Spotify has launched its audiobook service in India, adding over 350,000 English titles and nearly 7,000 Indian-language audiobooks to its platform. The new offering brings books into the same app as music and podcasts. The service is available through a subscription called Audiobooks+, which costs ₹199 per month and provides listeners with 15 hours of listening time.
Subscription details
Audiobook catalog includes regional titles
The Audiobooks+ subscription also allows users to add more hours or buy individual titles.
Both Free and Premium Spotify users can access this plan.
The Indian-language catalog covers Hindi, Tamil, Bengali, Marathi, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam languages with titles such as Premchand's Godaan, Kalki's Ponniyin Selvan and Tagore's Kabuliwala, among others.
New initiatives
Page Match feature lets users scan physical book's ISBN barcode
Spotify's audiobook service also comes with a notable feature called Page Match. This lets users scan a physical book's ISBN barcode to start the audiobook from the same page.
The feature has been used by over one million listeners globally since its February launch.
Along with this, Spotify is also launching its Spotify for Authors program in India.
Author empowerment
Spotify for Authors program launched in India
The Spotify for Authors program gives self-published and independent authors a chance to publish their audiobooks on the platform.
They can also access listener data and use marketing tools while retaining rights to distribute elsewhere.
This move is part of Spotify's global strategy where it has seen a 40% year-on-year growth in monthly audiobook listeners, with listening hours increasing by over 30%.