Spotify Newsletter #128

Your Weekly Dose of Spotify News

Sep 23

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Hello and welcome to the latest Spotify Newsletter!

I’m the last person to opine about audiobooks. I’m not against voice recordings of books, but I still prefer the joy of holding a book.

Over at Spotify HQ audiobooks are all the rage, and this week the company made more than 300,000 audiobook titles available for purchase in the U.S. via a new user interface.

Team Spotify is calling the entry into the category “the next frontier for us as a company.”

Users will be able to purchase and download individual books from a range of major and independent publishers. The launch establishes an à la carte business model for Spotify that is neither the existing free, ad-supported one nor paid subscriptions.

So now Spotify sells audiobooks. It’s a big audio vertical, and here’s hoping it’s a winning endeavor for Ek & Co.

And for non-audiobook types like myself, perhaps this move will bring me to dip a toe into the audio book market.

Beyond books …. it was another solid week of news about the latest Spotify goings-on. Thanks so much for taking a quick look to see what’s shakin’.

★In the SPOTlight★

🔥 Spotify announces launch of audiobooks for U.S. listeners

The streaming company’s foray into audiobooks marks its latest attempt to make the platform a one-stop-shop for all things audio. Spotify introduced podcasts in 2015 and is now home to more than 4.4 million of them, according to its second-quarter earnings report.
The company decided to introduce audiobooks because they represent a “substantial untapped market,” Nir Zicherman, Spotify’s vice president and global head of audiobooks and gated content, said in Tuesday’s release.

🔥 People are apparently using Spotify’s video podcast tool to illegally pirate movies

Spotify subscribers have long used the streaming service to play their favorite movie’s soundtrack. But some now are apparently using the service to watch actual movies, too.

🔥 Spotify Island on Roblox launches a new virtual destination for hip-hop listeners

It’s been four months since Spotify’s debuted its virtual Spotify Island on Roblox, which made it the first music streaming service to have an official presence within the gaming platform. Today, Spotify launched a new space-themed digital destination on Roblox called Planet Hip-Hop, which will soon feature up-and-coming female rapper Doechii.

🔥 It’s Time To Act. The Internet Economy Depends on It

In March 2019, Spotify took the bold step of filing a complaint against Apple with the European Commission for anti-competitive behavior and abuse of dominance in the music streaming market. For years, Apple has consistently tilted the playing field in favor of its own services to disadvantage rivals, stifle innovation, and make it harder for companies like Spotify to compete.
But it’s not just Spotify who’s impacted.