As Spotify discernibly grows the audiobook market with their inclusion of 15 hours of audiobook listening per month as part of their premium subscriptions, Amazon has responded with their own similar offer. In a press release on Tuesday, they announced that Amazon Music subscribers in the US, UK and Canada can listen to one full audiobook per month as part of their Unlimited plan, at no additional cost. They say it’s available across the full Audible catalog of over 1 million audiobooks.
Audio
Audiobooks Contribute to Higher Spotify Margins
In its third quarter earnings report on Tuesday, Spotify noted that audiobooks (along with music) contributed to a gross margin increase for the brand’s premium offering, up 473 bps to 31.1 percent. Premium subscribers grew 12 percent compared to a year ago, up to 252 million. Those subscribers are up 6 million from the second quarter and the company expects to add another 8 million in the current quarter. Overall sales for the company were up 19 percent to €3.988 billion ($4.227 billion at current exchange rates) and operating income was €454 million. According to the Wall Street Journal, “a […]
Story Confirms That Spotify Is Paying Real Money to Publishers
Since Spotify started offering US premium subscribers 15 hours of audiobook listening a month at no extra cost nearly a year ago, we know the company has been putting real money into the hands of publishers and authors, marking one of the few initiatives in our world from a big tech player that actually seems to have grown the market. (When Spotify launched a regular, a la carte audiobook sales program the year before, the impact was minor at best.) Digital audio had been growing a lovely 12 to 15 percent a year by industry statistics and through the first […]
Spotify Expands Audiobooks to France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg
At an event in Paris, Spotify announced an expansion of their audiobooks efforts, now providing premium subscribers in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg with 12 hours of included free audiobook listening every month. Managing Director, Spotify Western Europe Antoine Monin says in the announcement, “Spotify’s reach presents a significant opportunity to expand the audiobooks market across France, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg.” He indicates they have added 15,000 French and 15,000 Dutch and Flemish titles to their catalog. Spotify launched their offering of free audiobook listening a year ago, and they say in the release, “While it’s still early […]
Audible Launches New Royalties Model
Audible announced a new model for paying authors and publishers, that will allow titles in all Audible’s membership offerings to earn royalties. They write, “Now more titles—including those currently in Audible Plus, Audible’s all-you-can-listen offering—can generate royalty payments.” The way the royalties will be calculated is as follows: “Audible takes a member’s plan value (Plus or Premium Plus) and adds the value of any additional credits used, then divides that value among the titles the member listened to over the course of the month. That figure, multiplied by the contractual royalty rate, comprises a creator’s royalty payment.” Additionally, Audible will […]
Acquisitions: RBmedia to Acquire Dreamscape Media
RBmedia has an agreement to acquire audiobook publisher Dreamscape Media, which includes Dreamscape Publishing and Dreamscape Select. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2024. Dreamscape produces and distributes audiobooks in 60 countries, and also provides services to self-published authors looking to create audiobooks. Founded in 2010, Dreamscape has a catalog of over 7,000 audiobooks. The company said previously it had sales of $30 million in 2023, up from $23.5 million in 2022. RBmedia ceo Michael Paull said in a release, “The acquisition of Dreamscape will give RBmedia additional depth in key genres and enable us […]