The arrival of Spotify in audiobooks boosts the sector

Will the French audiobook market be turned upside down by the arrival of Spotify? Until now, Audible, a subsidiary of Amazon, reigned supreme in this niche. But the entry of the world number one in music streaming into the niche, in mid-October, is already changing the situation. This new competitor risks making the offers of Audible but also of number two, Apple Books, obsolete and less attractive. Spotify now offers its 7 million French subscribers twelve hours of free audiobook listening each month. They therefore have access, at no extra cost, to 15,000 references in French. The Swedish group has signed agreements with around a hundred publishers, including the subsidiaries specializing in audio books from Hachette and Albin Michel, Editis, Gallimard, Actes Sud, L'Ecole des Loisirs, Bayard and Editions des Femmes. .

On the other hand, Audible's offer allows you to acquire, for 9.95 euros, a single audio book per month from a catalog of 20,000 titles in French. Suffice to say that one should not make a mistake in the choice of the monthly work, even if it is also possible to draw for free from a very small catalog of 1,500 titles in French, but larger, of 40,000 titles in English. This model, already deployed in ten countries, has nevertheless proven itself. Purchased audiobooks remain available, even after cancellation or if the subscription is paused. For its part, Apple Books sells, without subscription, mainly audio books at full price.

“Audible and Spotify are two complementary offers”assures Laure Saget, general director of Audiolib (co-owned by Hachette Livre and Albin Michel), which make it possible to sell different books. “The obligation to choose in a drastic and radical way favors, at Audible, the purchase of bestsellers”she said. Customers take less risk, but also prefer “the longest titles to optimize their subscription”she adds. As for Spotify, it appeals to a younger audience who dig into the offering, discover several authors or test several genres before deciding to listen to an entire book.

This new proposition allows you to discover more atypical formats, such as short stories or books intended for children. “This will rejuvenate and democratize the audiobook audience”predicts Laure Saget. She highlights the way Spotify editorializes its offering, “like a bookseller, with playlists and principles of recommendations and prescriptions” in very specialized areas, “like Japanese literature”.

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