Spotify is expanding its audiobook service to more than 180 markets by the end of 2026, but listeners in Africa will largely access the feature through a separate paid add-on rather than as part of their Premium subscriptions.
The global rollout, announced at the Frankfurt Book Fair on Wednesday, will extend Spotify’s audiobook offering from 22 markets to Europe, the Americas, the Caribbean, the Middle East, Africa and Asia.
The expansion is expected to give more than 750 million people access to a catalogue of over 350,000 audiobook titles in more than 120 languages.
However, the pricing structure will differ across markets.
While premium subscribers in selected countries will receive 12 hours of audiobook listening as part of their subscription, Spotify said the Audiobooks+ add-on would be the main route to access in Africa and Asia, as well as Argentina.
The separate Audiobooks+ plan provides 15 hours of listening each month, while users can also purchase individual titles outright.
Spotify said demand for audiobooks has continued to grow, with monthly audiobook listeners increasing by nearly 40 per cent over the past year and listening hours rising by more than 30 per cent.
The company said its Audiobooks+ service has also surpassed one million subscribers and generated more than $100m in annual recurring revenue.
Owen Smith, Spotify’s vice-president of audiobooks, said the expansion would give authors and publishers access to audiences they had previously been unable to reach.
The streaming company is also introducing an artificial intelligence-powered tool that allows authors to turn books into audiobooks using ElevenLabs models.
Spotify has further begun testing the sale of physical books through its platform, expanding its ambitions beyond music and digital audio.
The move puts Spotify in greater competition with dedicated audiobook services such as Audible, while also broadening its challenge to other global streaming platforms.
For African listeners, however, the rollout could raise questions over affordability, as access to the audiobook catalogue will generally require an additional payment rather than being bundled into existing Premium subscriptions.
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