Spotify Launches ElevenLabs Audiobook Tool as Catalog Reaches 700,000 Titles
Updated
Updated · TechCrunch · May 21
Spotify Launches ElevenLabs Audiobook Tool as Catalog Reaches 700,000 Titles
3 articles · Updated · TechCrunch · May 21
June beta access will let invited authors create and self-publish English-language AI audiobooks inside Spotify for Authors, without signing exclusive distribution deals.
ElevenLabs powers the new feature, extending an earlier partnership that already let writers submit AI-narrated books to Spotify and giving authors access to more human-like voice models.
Spotify also widened its audiobook push by adding 10 languages to Spotify for Authors, planning higher-limit Audiobook+ tiers, and rolling out new discovery tools for audiobook search and recommendations.
Audiobooks have become a bigger business for Spotify: the service says it has more than 1 million Audiobook+ subscriptions, is nearing $100 million in annualized recurring revenue, and has lifted listening hours 60% year on year.
Spotify's AI can now read books. What creative human role in the audio industry will be automated next?
With Spotify's AI tool creating endless audiobooks, is the art of human narration facing extinction?
Audible has slashed prices to fight Spotify. Is this the start of a price war that ultimately devalues audiobooks?