As it continues a push into audiobooks, Spotify has just announced a number of new features currently being tested to improve the experience.
View Short Video Clips About an Audiobook
One of the features is video clips for audiobooks. Authors and publishers can submit a short video about a specific title. That can be something like an interview, backstage video from the audio recording session, or a video message from the author.
Another addition in the test phase is Follow-Along for select titles. That provides an immersive visual experience that will show time-synchronized illustrations, photos and graphics while you’re listening to an audiobook. They can also be found in the Extras section of the audiobook.
In a pilot stage with a selected number of authors, you can see dedicated profiles with information including a bio and other works. You can also see an author’s entire audiobook catalog available on Spotify.
While announcing the new features being tested, the streaming company also highlighted other ways to best enjoy audiobooks like countdown pages and creating an audiobook playlist.
Anyone with a Spotify Premium subscription, which costs $10.99 per month, can listen to up to 15 hours of audiobooks per month that can spread out among an unlimited number of titles. You’ll want to avoid the Audiobook Access plan that also offers the same 15 hours of listening monthly. It’s only $1 less per month than Premium, but doesn’t offer perks like ad-free music and offline listening.
A limited number of audiobooks are available on Spotify for free. There are also a number of titles that you can purchase as well.
Are Audiobooks the Next Frontier of Streaming Services?
Spotify is clearly betting on audiobooks as a new way to rake in subscribers. The video features provide a new level of interactivity, especially when listening to audiobooks on a smartphone.
Other streaming services seem to be noticing Spotify’s audiobook push. Earlier this week, Amazon announced that Music Unlimited subscribers will be able to listen to one audiobook per month from Audible for free. If you’re a Prime subscriber, a Music Unlimited subscription is $9.99 per month.