LONDON: Spotify’s audiobook users are being offered narrated articles from leading magazines as part of their subscription, as the platform continues to diversify its content offering.
The Swedish streaming giant will make more than 650 long-form articles available in English from titles such as Rolling Stone, The Atlantic, Vogue, Variety and Vanity Fair.
“With Articles, we’re introducing long-form journalism in audio as a natural extension of the music, podcasts and audiobooks people already come to Spotify for, focused on topics we know they love,” Colleen Prendergast, licensing lead at Spotify audiobooks, said.
The company was betting on shorter-form content to help build “healthy listening habits” and grow engagement, she said.
Each narrated article is less than two hours long and counts toward Premium users’ monthly audiobook allowance alongside the existing library. Users of the free service can buy individual articles for $1.99.
Narration uses a mix of human and AI-generated voices, according to The Verge.
Spotify spokesperson Rosalind Jeffcoat told the outlet that any article using a synthesized voice would carry a visible label and that AI narration made it more practical to convert shorter pieces that would otherwise never reach an audio audience.
Since launching audiobooks just over two years ago, Spotify has expanded the feature to 22 markets.
In November it introduced the service in Saudi Arabia and the UAE — the first Arab countries to get it — as part of a new Premium Platinum tier, which was also rolled out in India, Indonesia and South Africa.
The plan, which includes lossless audio, gives subscribers 12 hours of audiobook listening per month, with 10-hour top-ups available to buy.
The launch of narrated articles is one of several recent moves by Spotify to broaden its platform.
Last week, it announced a deal with Universal Music Group allowing subscribers to create AI-generated covers and remixes of tracks by selected artists.
It also unveiled Reserved, a partnership with Live Nation Entertainment that lets eligible Premium subscribers buy up to two tickets for concerts by their favorite performers before they go on general sale.
- With Reuters
