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The service said its audiobook offering will launch in India on November 12 as part of a wider global expansion to more than 180 markets by the end of 2026. The company says the new markets will let more than 750 million people globally stream or purchase books on Spotify, with more than 350,000 titles available across the newly added markets. Spotify will introduce audiobooks in India from November 12. The company is set to expand audiobook availability from 22 markets to over 180 by year-end. The expansion will add catalogues in more than 120 languages, with Spotify saying the overall offering will include more than 350,000 audiobook titles. Bringing audiobooks to more than 180 markets means millions more people can discover that, and authors and publishers can reach readers they’ve never been able to reach before,” said Owen Smith, VP of Audiobooks, Spotify.
Its partnerships with publishers and authors are non-exclusive, the company says. Spotify to launch audiobooks in India next month. The expansion will bring audiobooks to users alongside Spotify’s existing music and podcast offerings. The company is also introducing new features, including a new Page Match experience and an expanded Audiobooks+ offering, to give users more listening choices. “Books change how we see the world, and the people in it. For a lot of people, audiobooks are how they find their way back to reading, on the commute, on a walk, or at the end of a long day.
Spotify adds Page Match feature
Page Match currently works in more than 30 languages.
The company said more than one million readers have used Page Match since February to move between print, e-books and audio. Spotify is also updating its Page Match feature, which lets users move between physical or digital books and their audiobook versions. The latest update adds page numbers. Users can scan a book’s ISBN barcode and use page numbers to find their place in the audiobook.
How users in India will be able to access audiobooks
Premium Family and Duo users can also get 15 hours of audiobook listening per month through a recurring add-on. Spotify said monthly audiobook listeners have grown nearly 40% over the past year, while audiobook listening hours have increased by more than 30%. The company currently offers more than 700,000 audiobooks in select markets.
In India, Spotify will offer audiobooks through Audiobooks+, which the company describes as its primary way of providing audiobook access across markets in Africa, Asia and Argentina. Users who want more listening time can add Audiobooks+ to their plan for extra hours each month. Those looking for a particular title can also purchase it and keep it. Spotify has not specified pricing for India in the announcement, noting that availability and pricing vary by market. Spotify is also bringing Audiobooks+ to Student plans in select markets. From November, Student users in Ireland, Belgium, Austria and Finland will be able to add additional audiobook listening hours. Audiobooks+ lets Spotify Premium users buy extra audiobook listening time on top of their existing plan. You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.