Spotify CEO ‘Feels Good’ About New Audiobook Venture
By Movieguide® Contributor
Spotify CEO Daniel Ek is updating investors on the streaming platform’s recently launched audiobook feature.
“It’s early days, but we feel good,” Ek explained. “We just believe it is going to be a great product that will open up more authors to more consumers. And what we have seen is that when we enter a business, it gets bigger.”
Audiobooks on Spotify was launched in select markets, including the U.K., earlier this month and will be available in the U.S. sometime this winter.
“We believe that offering personalized music, podcasts, and audiobooks on a single platform gives you a superior way to connect with your favorite artists, podcasters, creators, and authors — all in one spot,” Spotify said in a statement about the launch. “Not only can you listen to some of your favorite authors’ works, but you can also tune into podcasts where fans dissect the most minor details of a story and find the hidden meaning in every sentence, without leaving the app.”
Ek said, “I believe this will bring a whole new generation of listeners to audiobooks,” via The Verge.
Spotify Premium subscribers receive 15 free hours of audiobook recordings a month, with the option to purchase more hours.
“We are seeing them [users] doing that, [some] heavily,” Ek continued. “The base is obviously very small [but] we are encouraged by what we are seeing.”
Ek also touched on the potential of using AI for advertising, saying, “You can translate whatever creative you have into lots of different languages. You can use the same voice actor, instead of producing one or two ads, you can have a thousand or ten thousand or even a hundred thousand ads that are individually created for each user…So there’s lots of possibilities that lowers the barrier to entry for marketers on the ad side using generative AI.”
This is Spotify’s latest move to increase profits and explore other ventures. Movieguide® previously reported:
Spotify just announced that they bought Heardle, a music recognition trivia game that’s based on the super-popular word game, Wordle.
This is the latest move the music streaming service has made in an effort to make Spotify more interactive. This includes video, livestreaming, and podcasts.
Heardle asks users to guess a song based on the opening notes. Players get six chances to get the song, which changes each day.
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Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.
What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.
You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.
Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.
