Spotify adds another perk for Premium users

Spotify is trying to convince its paying customers that the $11 monthly fee for its streaming service is justified. Of course, if you live in another country, Spotify Premium might a lot less, but what really matters is that you’ll be getting another perk starting today.

After adding the ability to listen to audiobooks on Spotify last year, the streaming service announced today that Premium users will have access to over 150,000 audiobooks. Up until now, Spotify users, regardless of whether or not they pay for Premium, had to purchase the audiobooks they wanted to listen to on Spotify.

Starting today, Spotify is making more than 150,000 audiobooks available as part of Premium subscriptions. At launch, the new perk will offer each Premium individual, as well as plan managers for Family and Duo accounts, 15 hours of listening per month.

Spotify says that it will be working on more ways to unlock access to Premium audiobooks, but for the moment it’s just primary account holders on Family and Duo plans who will receive the monthly audiobooks allocation.

Obviously, not all books available on Spotify will be available for free to Premium users, but they’re marked “Included in Premium” to make them easier to find. As per Spotify’s statement, its audiobook catalog includes about 70 percent of bestselling books, with titles from major publishers including Hachette, HarperCollins Publishers, Macmillan, Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, and RB Media, as well as independent authors and publishers globally.



In order to start listening to an audiobook, simply type in the title in Search to find it. If you use up your 15 hours before the monthly billing cycle refreshes, you can purchase a 10-hour top-up if you can’t wait until next month. Also, Spotify Premium users will be able to download audiobooks for offline listening.

The new feature will be available for Premium users in the United Kingdom and Australia starting today, while US customers will get the perk later this year. No word on whether or not this will be made available globally at some point next year.