Publishers in the temple of music. On Monday October 14, Spotify announced the expansion of its audiobook service to its first non-English speaking markets: France, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. Subscribers to the platform’s premium service now have access, at no extra charge, to twelve hours of listening to audio books per month. Nearly 15,000 references in French (and as many in Dutch, out of a total of 200,000, mainly in English) are available, including a good number of novels from the literary season, such as those by Gaël Faye, Maylis de Kerangal or Sandrine Collette .
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If subscribers have exhausted their credit, they can purchase ten-hour packages at 9.99 euros that can be used during the year or acquire audio books à la carte. For the moment, only the holder of a Spotify family account will have control over listening choices. This should eventually change to avoid endless debates between parents and children.
The world number one in music streaming is therefore investing in this tiny publishing sector in France (2% to 3% of the market), of which the leader Audible (Amazon) refuses to disclose any figures. Other subscription offers have emerged, such as the Swedish Nextory, Storytel or BookBeat.
“High potential”
Optimistic, David Kaefer, global vice president of audio books at Spotify, is betting on the “high potential” of development. In the United States, according to him, new audiobook listeners spend on average “an additional five hours on Spotify within sixty days of their first listen”. Antoine Monin, general manager of Spotify France and Benelux, does not hide the fact that “France is behind in audio books, compared to its European neighbors”, particularly compared to Germany, Scandinavia or Great Britain.
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Publishers believe in it. Laure Saget, general manager of Audiolib (a joint subsidiary of Hachette Livre and Albin Michel), is all the more confident that her colleagues at Hachette in the United States and Great Britain have seen their activity increase by 15% to 20% in one year thanks to Spotify. Eric Marbeau, digital sales director of Madrigall (Gallimard, Flammarion, etc.), which brings a catalog of 1,500 books, is delighted to better promote its catalog holdings.
Spotify, which grants 70% of its revenue to music labels who then pay artists, refuses to disclose the nature of the contracts signed with publishers. The share seems less. But for Liza Faja, director of Lizzie (Editis), this agreement should “to reach people who do not read or no longer read”. Colossal potential, therefore.
