Two meaningful announcements from Spotify.
First…
The company announces that its audiobook listening service will be dramatically expanded from the current footprint of 22 markets to at least 180 markets. This explosion of access will happen by end of year. The catalog contains more than 350,000 titles performed in over 120 languages, and the expanded service will address 750 million people.
Listening to audiobooks on Spotify happens in three models:
- Audiobooks Premium (12 listening hours per month)
- Audiobooks+ (an add-on plan for more listening hours)
- Direct sales for audiobook ownership
The Audiobooks+ system serves over a million subscribers.
Second…
The second announcement is quite interesting. Spotify has invented a listener membership scheme for individual podcasts. There are two parts:
For listeners: They can buy memberships to individual podcasts. The benefits are set by the podcaster, and can include exclusive content, bonus episodes, early access to show drops, access to archives, fewer and commenter status badges.
The new membership plan is separate from the general Spotify Premium subscription. Any Spotify user, free or subscription, can buy a podcast membership.
