Spotify has announced new partnerships with Bonnier Books UK and Blackstone Publishing, marking an expansion of its audiobook offerings to Premium subscribers. Spotify users can now explore thousands of new audiobook titles from these award-winning publishers.
Bonnier Books UK, headquartered in London, is celebrated for its diverse array of bestsellers and critically acclaimed works. Notable titles soon available on Spotify include “The Beekeeper of Aleppo” by Christie Lefteri, “Parenting Hell” by comedians Josh Widdicombe and Rob Beckett, and “The Audacity” by comedian Katherine Ryan.
Read: Spotify audiobooks ‘reshape market’ with huge growth
U.S.-based Blackstone Publishing is also joining Spotify’s roster, bringing titles such as Whoopi Goldberg’s memoir “Bits and Pieces: My Mother, My Brother, and Me”, “Hell Divers XI: Renegades” by Nicholas Sansbury Smith, and “Cool Food: Erasing Your Carbon Footprint One Bite at a Time” by Robert Downey Jr. and Thomas Kostigen.
A Spotify spokesperson told How To Be Books: “Through these partnerships, Spotify users will have access to thousands of new titles from both publishing partners’ vibrant, award-winning audio catalogs, furthering our diverse collection of audiobooks for listeners to choose from, and advancing our goal of growing the audiobook market by introducing new listeners to the format.”
“We want Spotify to be the best place for authors and publishers to get their books heard, and to bring great audio stories to as many people as possible.”
Duncan Bruce, Spotify Director of Audiobook Partnerships & Licensing
Duncan Bruce, Spotify’s Director of Audiobook Partnerships & Licensing, shared his vision of the Bonnier and Blackstone collaboration for the platform: “We want Spotify to be the best place for authors and publishers to get their books heard, and to bring great audio stories to as many people as possible.
He added: “Our partnerships with Blackstone Publishing and Bonnier Books UK make this a possibility with access to our global audience of more than 615 million users.”
Read: Spotify launches new audiobooks subscription tier for book lovers
Perminder Mann, CEO of Bonnier Books UK, reflected on the impact of the Spotify partnership: “One of our core values is that every reader matters, and we are always looking for new ways to broaden the reach of our books to introduce new audiences to our authors’ voices and perspectives. Spotify’s Audiobooks in Premium program is another positive step forward for authors and publishers.”
Anthony Goff, President at Blackstone Publishing, also commented on the long-term relationship building with Spotify: “This relationship has been years in the making as I’ve been speaking with the great team at Spotify from their earliest days of entertaining a foray into audiobooks. Blackstone Publishing could not be happier to have them as a new partner as we continually look widen the scope of the market and get listening to books the mass appeal that it has always deserved.”
The offer provides eligible Spotify Premium subscribers with access to 15 hours of audiobook content per month from a catalogue of more than 250,000 titles. Since its launch last fall, over a quarter of Spotify Premium users have engaged with audiobooks, with more than 150,000 unique titles streamed to date.