Alongside instruments for AI-generated podcasts, Spotify on Thursday launched a brand new, ElevenLabs-powered AI software for self-publishing audiobooks inside the Spotify for Authors platform. The corporate mentioned at its Investor Day occasion that the characteristic will launch in beta this June on an invite-only foundation, initially with assist for the English language solely.
The AI-powered audiobook era received’t bind authors to an unique contract, that means they’re free to publish their generated audiobooks wherever.
The information builds on Spotify’s previous partnership with ElevenLabswhich allowed writers to submit audiobooks created on the voice AI startup’s platform to Spotify.
The audio streaming platform additionally already had a partnership with Google Play Books to permit for digitally narrated content material. Nevertheless, it could have wished authors to entry newer voice fashions that sound extra expressive and human-like, like these supplied by ElevenLabs. Notably, ElevenLabs had launched its own self-publishing platform for authors in 2025.
Spotify can also be increasing its “Spotify for Authors” platform to assist 10 extra languages, together with French, Canadian French, German, Dutch, Latin American Spanish, Swedish, Finnish, Icelandic, Danish, and Norwegian.
As well as, the corporate will broaden its Audiobook+ plans this yr to permit for increased listening limits and can add new choices for college kids and households sooner or later. (Spotify didn’t specify any pricing or utilization particulars for these plans in its announcement, nevertheless.)
Thus far, Spotify has clocked in over 1,000,000 Audiobook+ subscriptions, and it’s on monitor to generate $100 million in annualized recurring income for the platform.
On the occasion, the corporate launched a brand new means for customers to ask questions utilizing pure language for audiobook discovery. This summer time, Spotify will even broaden a characteristic that enables customers to create prompt-based playlists for podcasts and music to incorporate audiobooks, it mentioned.
Spotify has elevated its give attention to audiobooks closely in the previous couple of years and has managed to construct its catalog to 700,000 titles. The corporate introduced this system to international markets, made an investment in non-English titles, enabled in-app purchasesand released audiobook charts. This yr, it additionally began a program for authors to promote physical books in the U.S. and the U.K.
Via these initiatives, the corporate has managed to bump up listening hours by 60% year-on-year, the corporate claims. Spotify additionally mentioned that greater than half of its audiobook listeners began within the final yr.
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