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Spotify Becomes A Physical Bookseller
Crack open a good audiobook // Image by Kait Cunniff with DALL-E
Spotify is doubling down on its audiobook business by integrating physical books into its algorithm.
Why It Hits: Audiobooks are a growing business for Spotify, but the company recognizes that more people are rediscovering the joy of actually reading. The streamer doesn’t want the return to analog to be a barrier to its business, which is why it’s making it easier to enjoy both simultaneously… and, hopefully, bring more customers into the fold.
Between The Pages: Spotify is giving users two new ways to read.
It’s debuting Page Match, which lets users scan a page from any book they’re reading (printed or ebook) and then resume listening to the audiobook version from where they left off. Users can also scan a book to see where it appears in the audiobook feed.
When Page Match rolls out later this month, it’ll be available for nearly every English-language title in its 500,000-book catalog.
It’s also partnering with Bookshop.org to let users buy physical copies of books right in the app, taking an affiliate fee on all sales. (Spotify getting in on e-commerce was not on our bingo card in 2026.)
The bookselling marketplace will launch in the US and UK later this spring, with more territories to follow soon.
Last Chapter: Spotify execs recently noted that audiobook listening has jumped 36% year-over-year, both in number of listeners and hours streamed. Those are great metrics for Spotify, but the company sees ample opportunity to supercharge that, especially with #BookTok driving a reading renaissance and Gen Z treating Barnes & Noble like it’s 2000 again.
THR points out that Spotify is using the same playbook it used for podcasts: widen distribution, license strategically, and grow engagement by not keeping everything locked inside the app.
Next Edition: It’s only a matter of time until your local bookstore has a “Spotify Selects” section. Trippy.
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Today’s email was written by David Vendrell.
Edited by Nick Comney. Polled and Copy-edited by Kait Cunniff.
Published by Darline Salazar.