Spotify Premium users in US are to get Audiobook access for up to 15 hours per month as part of their subscription plan. They now join those in the UK and Australia who received this upgrade in October 2023. At launch there were 150,000 audiobooks available in this plan upgrade but this has now been increased to over 200.000.
Fifteen hours should get you around two average audiobooks per month, but if you do hit the limit, you can purchase a 10-hour top-up which costs £9.99 in the UK and $11 in the US. The offer also extends to Family and Duo accounts but only plan managers can access this benefit.
The Spotify Premium audiobook catalogue includes over 70% of bestselling titles from of-the-moment sensations like Britney Spears’ The Woman in Me and Jesmyn Ward’s Let Us Descend, to classics like Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist and Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights.
In a survey of over 1,000 Americans, Spotify found that younger generations are really taking to audiobook listening – Gen Z and millennials lead in audiobook listening, with 72% of 18 to 34 year-olds reporting that they listen to audiobooks. They also found that people are turning to “comfort listening.” Relaxation (63%) and comfort (51%) are the top emotions associated with audiobook listening. Plus, 41% of audiobook listeners prefer audiobooks because of cognitive benefits – like improving their memory or keeping their minds active.
Audiobook listening for Americans in 2023
- 72% of Gen Z and Millennials (18 to 34 year-olds) listen to audiobooks
- 70% of audiobook listeners are more likely to listen to additional audio content after listening to audiobooks
- 37% of audiobook listeners have listened to an entire audiobook a second time or more
- Nearly half of audiobook listeners do it while travelling or on holiday. Nearly a third have listened to an audiobook set in a location they’re travelling to
- 66% of 18 to 34 year-old audiobook listeners listen with their partners
- Relaxation (63%) and comfort (51%) are the top emotions associated with audiobook listening. Many report listening to audiobooks while getting ready for bed (35%) or during their morning/evening routine (20%)
- More than half (52%) of 18 to 34 year-olds have found themselves wanting to know more about the narrator of the audiobook and 25% of listeners have cried in response to listening to an audiobook
