Spotify (NYSE:SPOT)
With the launch of its audiobook store, music streaming service Spotify stock has taken the next step toward becoming an audio destination, challenging market leaders like Amazon.com (AMZN), Apple (AAPL), and Google (GOOG) (GOOGL) in the process.
On Tuesday, the company began offering more than 300,000 titles to consumers for purchase through a new interface section. Additionally, Spotify stock began including audiobook titles in searches and suggestions produced by its employees.
The play button for audiobooks will display a lock icon to indicate that the audiobook has to be paid for before it can be played. Notably, Spotify (NYSE:SPOT) will push customers to purchase audiobooks using a mobile Web browser rather than the app itself. This will allow Spotify stock to sidestep the large revenue cut that tech platforms face from app stores.
This places Spotify’s (NYSE:SPOT) service on par with the book sales provided by the two most prominent providers of operating systems, Apple (AAPL) and Google (GOOG) (GOOGL). The acquisition of Findaway by Spotify stock in June positioned the company to compete with Audible, the market leader in audiobook subscription services (AMZN).
Spotify (NYSE:SPOT) users will soon be able to download content for offline listening, and the service will also have automated bookmarking and control over playback speed.
Nir Zicherman, who works for Spotify (NYSE:SPOT), has stated that the company has “always believed that the potential for audio is boundless,” and they have “been saying for a while now that our objective is to provide the whole package for everyone’s listening requirements.” “Audiobooks are the next to come into the picture because we see a significant untapped market. While audiobooks only represent about a 6%–7% part of the overall book industry, the category is rising by 20% year over year.”
At its Investor Day in June, Spotify (NYSE:SPOT) focused on turning around margin performance while pressing further beyond music (where it is the leader) into podcasts and launching audiobooks. CEO Daniel Ek called audiobooks “the next big thing” for the Spotify stock”an opportunity worth $70 billion every year for us to grow into and eventually compete for. You can also anticipate that we will play to win, just like we have in our podcasting.”
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Spotify stock declined in the intraday trading session after it launched audiobook sales.
Featured Image – Megapixl © Micheleursi
Author Shariq Khan 
