May 26 (Reuters) – Spotify said on Tuesday it is rolling out narrated articles from top publications including Rolling Stone, The Atlantic, Vogue, Variety and Vanity Fair for its audiobook users, as the platform diversifies its content.
The Swedish streaming giant will offer more than 650 long-form magazine articles in the English language to users with access to audiobooks.
• Spotify is bringing in more content on its streaming platform to boost user engagement and better compete with AI music startups such as Udio and Suno and larger podcast rivals including YouTube and Netflix.
• Spotify co-CEO Alex Norstrom said recently that the company has already captured roughly 20% of the audiobooks market in the United States.
• The curated collection of narrated articles, produced by Spotify’s in-house Audiobooks team, will be under two hours in length, according to the company.
• Spotify said premium subscribers can access these articles as part of their monthly audiobooks allowance, while free users have the option to purchase individual articles for $1.99.
• “By bringing shorter form content into the mix, we’re meeting audiences where they are to help build healthy listening habits, ultimately growing engagement with books over time,” said Colleen Prendergast, licensing lead at Spotify Audiobooks.
• Since launching Audiobooks just over two years ago, Spotify has expanded the offering into 22 markets, the company said.
• Last week, Spotify announced a deal with Universal Music Group to let subscribers create AI-generated covers and remixes of tracks by some of the label’s artists.
• Spotify also unveiled “Reserved” through a partnership with Live Nation Entertainment, which lets eligible premium subscribers buy up to two tickets to their favorite artists’ concerts before they are offered to the general public for sale.
(Reporting by Jaspreet Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath)
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