Spotify says its audiobook format has seen significant growth since its rollout two years ago. Over the past year, the number of people listening to audiobooks increased by 36%, while total hours spent listening rose 37%, the company shared with Bloomberg. This marks a slight increase from the 35% growth in listening hours reported in Spotify’s latest quarterly earnings. The total number of audiobook listeners was not disclosed.
The growth in audiobook listening outpaces Spotify’s overall user base expansion, which grew 11% year-over-year to 696 million monthly active users, with Premium subscriptions rising 12% to 276 million. Some in the music industry have expressed concern that audiobooks may be diverting time from music listening, though Spotify continues to increase royalty payouts to the music sector, paying $10 billion in 2024, up around 11% from the previous year.
Spotify’s entry into audiobooks has caused tension with the music business, particularly over the company’s decision to classify its music streaming as a “bundle” with audiobooks, resulting in lower mechanical royalty payments to music publishers in the U.S. Spotify argued this fell within its rights under the Phonorecords IV collective agreement, but the Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC) disagreed and pursued legal action. A federal court initially sided with Spotify, dismissing the case, but last month the court allowed MLC to file an amended complaint.
Book publishers have largely responded positively to Spotify’s expansion into audiobooks. U.S. audiobook sales rose 13% in 2024 to $2.2 billion, according to the Audio Publishers Association, with Spotify credited for contributing to this growth. Amanda D’Acierno, who oversees audio at Penguin Random House U.S., told the New York Times that Spotify helps reach readers who do not often visit bookstores.
Spotify’s data shows most audiobook listeners are under 35. Owen Smith, head of audiobooks at Spotify, noted that children’s books and short stories have performed especially well, as listeners often sample fragments of multiple books before deciding which to continue.
Spotify offers 15 hours of audiobooks with a Premium subscription, allowing users to sample multiple books, with the option to purchase more listening time. Smith told Bloomberg that Spotify is successfully expanding the book audience as promised to publishers when the service launched.
