Spotify launches audiobooks in Finland
Spotify, the Sweden-based music and podcast streaming giant, began offering audiobooks to its subscribers in Finland this week. Digital media expert and Yle's streaming services chief, Kari Haakana, notes that audiobooks on Spotify may introduce the medium to new customers. “It may bring people who don't have audiobook subscriptions to listen to audiobooks,” he said.
On Tuesday, Spotify started offering audiobooks, joining competing platforms like BookBeat, Storytel, Nextory, and Audible. Monthly subscription rates for audiobook services range from around €10 to more than €20 per month, depending on the amount of content offered and consumed. Nearly all of Finland's public libraries also offer free e-library services which include audiobooks, e-books, and digital periodicals and newspapers.
According to Spotify, a €12.99 premium monthly subscription includes access to around 300,000 audiobooks, along with the platform's broad selection of streamable music and podcasts. However, it remains to be seen how beneficial the development will be for authors, according to Haakana. “Consumers may win in the short term — there are lots of titles to choose from and prices are kept reasonable. But will that mean authors will benefit?” Yle spoke with authors in Finland who said that Spotify and their publishers made the audiobook streaming agreement without their participation.
“Consumers may win in the short term — there are lots of titles to choose from and prices are kept reasonable. But will that mean authors will benefit?”
Summary statements by readers and authors suggest mixed impacts: increased access for listeners versus uncertain gains for creators amid unilateral agreements.
Author’s note
Spotify’s foray into Finnish audiobooks expands access but raises questions about author participation and compensation in streaming deals.
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