Spotify is investing over $1 million in the development of audiobooks in other languages

Spotify has announced it will invest approximately $1.1 million in producing audiobooks in other languages, primarily French and Dutch. This move aims to expand its library and compete with market leaders like Audible in the global audiobook market, valued at $8.7 billion.

In France and the Netherlands, the digital audiobook segment is developing particularly slowly. According to Spotify, less than 3% of all French-language books are available in audio format—only about 20,000 titles—while there are around 750,000 printed editions in the country. In the Netherlands, approximately 15,000 audiobooks in Dutch are available out of 209,000 printed editions. Spotify’s audiobook service was launched last October in France and the Benelux countries.

The company attributes this lag to high production costs, which deter many publishers from releasing books in audio format. Although Spotify emphasizes that it plans to work with professional narrators, as a more affordable alternative, the company has partnered with ElevenLabs. This service allows authors to narrate texts using artificial intelligence.

Source: TechCrunch