Spotify Ventures Into Physical Book Sales, Adds New Audiobook Features

While Spotify users look yet different value hike, book lovers person immoderate breathtaking developments to look guardant to that could thief cushion nan blow.

Spotify announced respective updates for its audiobook business connected Thursday, notably its description into beingness books. Users successful nan U.S. and nan UK will soon beryllium capable to acquisition beingness copies of their favourite audiobooks straight done nan app, marking a important pivot for nan erstwhile digital-only platform. 

The institution besides introduced 2 features designed to make nan audiobook acquisition smoother and much flexible, including a caller instrumentality called “Page Match” that lets users scan a page from a beingness book to instantly modulation to that spot successful nan audiobook. 

Additionally, “Audiobook Recaps”—a antecedently iOS-only feature—is coming to Android devices successful nan spring. This characteristic provides bite-sized recaps tailored to nan past conception users stopped listening to.

Image Credits:Spotify

​Spotify’s determination to waste beingness books done its app positions it arsenic a competitor to awesome booksellers, including Amazon and Barnes & Noble. The institution besides recognizes that galore readers still worth beingness books, and by offering some people and integer formats, Spotify is trying to move itself into a one-stop shop for book lovers. 

Spotify has collaborated pinch Bookshop.org connected nan caller offering, an online marketplace that supports local, independent bookstores. This business is awesome news for indie booksellers, arsenic each acquisition made via Spotify will straight use section book communities.

The expertise to acquisition beingness books will rotation retired this outpouring and look connected audiobook pages successful nan app arsenic a fastener branded “Add to your bookshelf astatine home.” Clicking it takes users to Bookshop’s website, which handles nan pricing, inventory, and shipping.

Image Credits:Spotify

To span nan spread betwixt formats, Spotify is besides launching a characteristic called Page Match, which is presently disposable to premium subscribers and will rotation retired to each audiobook users by precocious February. The characteristic was initially spotted by Android Authority past month. 

Spotify’s caller Page Match characteristic lets users scan a page from a beingness aliases e-book utilizing their telephone camera. The instrumentality analyzes nan page contented and directs users to nan nonstop spot successful nan audiobook. It’s powered by a operation of Spotify’s in-house and third-party machine imagination and image scanning technologies.

When users want to move to nan audiobook, they tin prime nan “Scan to Listen” fastener and click nan “Scan to Read” fastener to return to nan beingness book, making it easy for users to prime up wherever they near off, whether they’re reference astatine location aliases switching to audio while connected nan go.

Page Match is presently disposable for astir English-language titles, pinch plans for early description . There are now much than 500,000 titles connected nan platform.

In nan 2 years since Spotify first introduced audiobooks, nan level has knowledgeable important growth. The institution reported successful October that nan number of users listening to audiobooks roseate 36% complete nan past year, and listening hours accrued 37%. Plus, much than half of Spotify’s 281 cardinal premium subscribers person engaged pinch an audiobook.

Spotify is expected to merchandise its fourth-quarter net results February 10.