audiobooks

Apple approves Spotify update so US users can buy audiobooks within the app

Media & Entertainment /

Spotify announced on Monday that Apple has approved a new app update, allowing iPhone users in the U.S. to purchase individual audiobooks directly within the app. Users can also view audiobook prices and easily buy additional listening hours beyond the initial 15 hours. “This change lowers the barriers for more users to embrace their first […]

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Spotify invests over $1M to grow its catalog of non-English audiobooks

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Spotify announced on Friday that it plans to invest €1 million–or approximately $1.1 million — to boost audiobook production in languages other than English, beginning with French and Dutch. The investment indicates that Spotify is eager for more non-English titles in its limited library as it tries to compete with major players like Audible in

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Spotify launches a program to publish audiobooks from independent authors

Media & Entertainment /

In an expansion of its existing audiobook efforts, Spotify on Thursday announced the launch of a new publishing program for authors that allows them to submit short-form stories they’d like to see turned into audiobooks. When Spotify selects a story for audiobook publishing, it will handle the production and distribution of the work to other

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ElevenLabs now lets authors create and publish audiobooks on its own platform

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Voice AI company ElevenLabs is now letting authors publish AI-generated audiobooks on its own Reader app, TechCrunch has learned and the company confirmed. The announcement comes days after the company partnered with Spotify for AI-narrated audiobooks. ElevenLabs, which raised a $180 million mega-round last month, started inviting authors to try out their publishing program through

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Spotify partners with ElevenLabs to expand its library of AI-narrated audiobooks

AI /

On Thursday, Spotify announced that it now accepts audiobooks narrated using ElevenLabs’ AI voice technology. Given that ElevenLabs is currently among the most recognized AI audio providers, this new partnership is expected to boost the quantity of AI-narrated audiobooks on the platform. To upload an audiobook narrated by AI, authors need to download the file

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HarperCollins CEO touts Spotify’s audiobooks entry, AI’s impact on publishing

AI /

The future of audiobooks and AI’s impact on the publishing industry were points of discussion for HarperCollins, whose CEO, Brian Murray, spoke at the UBS Global Media and Communications Conference on Tuesday. During the event, the exec praised Spotify’s entry into the audiobooks market and detailed its future growth plans in the space. He also

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Spotify debuts marketing tools and insights for audiobook authors

Media & Entertainment /

Spotify on Tuesday introduced a new set of tools for authors and publishers distributing their audiobooks on its platform with the launch of Spotify for Authors. Similar to its existing efforts, Spotify for Artists and Spotify for Creators (previously Podcasters), Spotify for Authors will allow writers and publishers to track insights and analytics about their

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Spotify tests a video feature for audiobooks as it ramps up video expansion

Apps /

Spotify is enhancing the audiobook experience for premium users through three new experiments: video clips, author pages, and the ability to add visuals that appear while users listen. These initiatives are part of Spotify’s effort to improve its audiobook offering and bring listeners closer to their favorite authors and stories. One notable feature being introduced

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Amazon’s top music plan will now include one audiobook per month

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Amazon said on Tuesday that it will let Amazon Music Unlimited subscribers access one audiobook per month from Audible’s catalog for free. This move aims to counter Spotify’s growth in the audiobook space and also nudge some Amazon Music subscribers to purchase Audible books or plans. The company noted that subscribers of the top plan

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Audible recruits voice actors to train audiobook-generating AI

AI /

Audible, Amazon’s audiobook business, on Monday announced that it’ll use AI trained on professional narrators’ voices to generate new audiobook recordings. A select, U.S.-based cohort of audiobook narrators will be invited to train AI on their voices starting this week, Audible said. The trained AI will be used to make recordings, and narrators will have

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