Spotify Premium can now listen to 15 hours of free audiobooks

Spotify is now offering its audiobook service to Premium members in the US, almost a month after announcing its entry into the audiobook market. There is a catch, even if the platform says it offers consumers free access to over 70% of bestsellers.

How is the system operating?

Spotify claims that getting your favorite audiobook is a rather easy process. After browsing the audiobook hub or conducting a title search, users may add the selected books to their library and start listening. To further streamline the process, the business will prominently label audiobooks that are accessible for streaming with the tag “Included in Premium” for each of the 200,000 audiobooks that are free for Premium members.

Spotify claims to cover many books from known memoirs, like “The Women in Me” by Britney Spears and “Let Us Descend” by Jesmyn Ward. However, not all these books are free for streaming; therefore, some require direct purchase.

A list of Numerous limitations

The monthly listening restriction for Spotify’s audiobook service is 15, in contrast to Audible’s unlimited access. After hitting the cap, users can either pay $12.99 for an extra 10 hours of listening or wait until the next month to resume listening. It’s also vital to remember that listening to previously released audiobooks counts against the allotted time, and users are unable to change the playback speed of a free audiobook or carry over unused hours to the following month.

Moreover, only one Duo and Family plan member may use the 15-hour listening limit; the other members must use the pricey $12.99 option. According to a blog post from Spotify, “Primary account holders on Family and Duo plans will receive the monthly audiobook allocation. We’ll be working on more ways to unlock access to premium audiobooks in the future.“

What advantages does this system have over other streaming apps?

Both Spotify and Audible have taken distinct approaches to audiobooks when compared. This is so that customers may access and permanently own popular bestsellers through Audible’s premium membership, which costs $15 per month. But unlike Spotify, members of Audible are only allowed one book credit per month, which means they have to buy more books.