Will the audiobook market finally take off with the arrival of Spotify?

A real phenomenon in the United States, where they represent 6% of online sales in 2023, generating 2.11 billion euros in revenue for publishers, the audio book remains for the moment more confidential in France, where it does not represent currently only about 2% of the market.

But the arrival of the streaming giant Spotify on this market in France, on October 14, 2024, could change the situation. In any case, this is what the publishers hope.

« Overnight, several million people were able to access twelve hours of audiobook listening through their premium subscription.”rejoices Laure Saget, president of the audiobook commission at the National Publishing Union.

A model that encourages discovery

Until now, the biggest obstacle to the takeoff of this market in France was its “limited sales potential”explains Laure Saget, also general director of Audiolib, the audiobook subsidiary of Hachette and Albin Michel. Which forced publishing houses to “make arbitrations” and to favor bestsellers. They will now be able to “produce more and more varied things”.

Especially since the economic model proposed by Spotify, quite different from that of Amazon's Audible (read below)the heavyweight of the sector, encourages more “discover different genres, different styles, different types of audiobook”. 

“So we can try things. Listen to a song for a quarter of an hour, then another, she explains. This avoids having to choose only one title per month. Which may tend to reinforce the best-seller effect. » Although both models have “each their own advantages”, she emphasizes.

The other advantage for publishers of Spotify's offering is that it is aimed at the general public. It aims “people who, a priori, would not have spontaneously subscribed to a purely audio book offerunderlines Laure Saget. Which is important for the democratization of its use. »

While the main players in the sector – whether the Swedish Storytel and Nextory or even the American Audible – still remain little known outside the circle of literature enthusiasts and fans of new technologies.

“Extremely positive” initial feedback

If French publishers are so interested in this market, it is because in the United States, but also in the United Kingdom, where it has also exploded since the pandemic, “the figures are quite impressive, with increases of 10% from year to year”, notes Laure Saget.

It is also because audio books manage to reach a young readership, particularly those aged 25-35, who usually read little. But who, thanks to this new, more immersive format, can discover the pleasure of reading, in another form, while doing sports or going to work.

“In the long term, it could bring a whole generation back to literature,” believes Laure Saget. And maybe give them “want to read the other books” by an author discovered on Spotify or Audible on paper. “Even if it will take a little time”she admits.

For the moment, two weeks after the launch of Spotify's offer, the first returns are “extremely positive”she assures, with “very high listening levels on very varied titles”.

If this is confirmed, it would also be good news for the authors, who “receive approximately the same remuneration, regardless of the subscription model offered”she specifies. But who could see the latter increase mechanically if there is “more sales”.