Spotify Expands Audiobook Offerings as Competitive Pricing Drives Consumer Engagement

With more readers turning to digital platforms for their literary fix, demand for audiobooks continues to soar. 

Against this backdrop, subscription services are seizing the opportunity to capitalize on this growing trend as part of broader efforts to secure subscribers’ long-term loyalty.

Spotify’s recent rollout of an Audiobooks Access Tier exemplifies this trend. Following the initial launch of Audiobooks in its Premium subscription last November, which led to a 45% surge in free users actively consuming Audiobook content on a daily basis, the streaming giant has now introduced a new plan option to offer listeners a wider range of choices.

Read more: Spotify Adds Audiobooks to Its Offerings

Starting March 1 and for a fee of $9.99 per month, the Audiobooks Access Tier offers U.S. book enthusiasts 15 hours of access to Spotify’s audiobooks library of over 200,000 titles. This subscription plan enables users to enjoy music, podcasts, and audiobooks within a single app experience, presenting an attractive option for book lovers seeking a more audiobook-focused content selection.

Everand is another player also competing in the space. Priced at $11.99 per month, Everand provides subscribers with unlimited access to a vast library of audiobooks, ebooks, magazines and documents and has garnered a loyal following among readers seeking an affordable and comprehensive digital reading experience. 

These offerings directly challenge established leaders like Amazon’s Audible, which has long dominated the audiobook market with its subscription-based service. 

While Audible’s subscription is priced at $14.95 per month, offering one credit per month to purchase any audiobook regardless of its price, both Spotify and Everand present competitive alternatives with their extensive libraries and integrated platform experiences.

Efforts to boost engagement with audiobooks come as many consumers are streamlining their entertainment subscription commitments due to financial challenges. According to a joint PYMNTS Intelligence-Mastercard research study, more than half of consumers indicated they would trim their streaming subscriptions if they’re unable to cover their monthly expenses, surpassing any other service in terms of potential cuts.

Moreover, findings from another study, “Subscription Commerce Readiness Report: Bridging the Gap Between Subscription Conversion and Retention,” a PYMNTS Intelligence and sticky.io collaboration, found that cost is the primary reason for subscription cancellations, with nearly 60% of consumers stating it as the cause for discontinuing a subscription in the previous year.

There is little doubt then that pricing will continue to play a pivotal role in shaping the landscape of the audiobook subscription market moving forward. 

Moreover, with consumers increasingly conscious of the value they receive for their subscription dollars, platforms like Spotify and Everand, offering robust libraries at competitive price points, are poised to attract a growing share of the market. 

Ultimately, the ability to strike the right balance between pricing, content selection and user experience will be key to sustaining growth and meeting the evolving needs of readers in the digital age.