Spotify announced that it will spend €1 million to partner with publishers and authors to increase audiobook production in non-English languages, beginning with French and Dutch. The audiobooks that Spotify “cofunds” will be nonexclusive and available to upload on any platform. Though the company “believes in the power of human narration” and will “continue to work with partners and the narrator community to bring these titles to fans in French and Dutch languages,” they will also offer an option for narration by an AI voice, “to help make audiobook production more cost-effective for those partners who require a lower barrier […]