audiobooks
Latest
Spotify’s Basic plan returns to $11 a month by cutting audiobooks
Spotify has a new plan for US subscribers that brings back the old $11 monthly pricing — as long as you don’t mind ditching audiobooks. The new Basic plan includes the music and podcast content you get from Premium but without 15 hours of audiobook access.
Will Shanklin06.21.2024
Spotify is raising the cost of Premium subscriptions, again
Spotify announces price hikes less than a year after its last ones.
Sarah Fielding06.03.2024
Audible is testing a cheaper plan in Australia
Audible is testing a cheaper subscription tier in Australia that sounds like an answer to Spotify’s audiobook push. The service’s new Standard plan gives you one free title per month, but your credits don’t roll over.
Will Shanklin05.02.2024
Some Spotify plans are reportedly getting more expensive soon
Here we go again. Spotify is reportedly preparing to make Premium more expensive in some markets, including the US, UK, and Australia.
Kris Holt04.03.2024
Spotify's subscriber audiobook credit is coming to Canada and other countries next week
Spotify Premium subscribers in Canada, Ireland and New Zealand will soon get 15 hours of audiobook listening each month at no extra cost. Users in the US, UK and Australia have had access to this perk since late last year.
Kris Holt04.02.2024
Spotify rolls out an audiobook-only subscription
Spotify is now offering a subscription tier just for audiobooks. It costs $10 per month and includes the same 15 hours of listening time as a Premium plan.
Kris Holt03.01.2024
Audible reportedly lays off over 100 employees
If you thought Big Tech’s dreadful year of layoffs would be confined to 2023, you’re (sadly) mistaken. Audible laid off around five percent of its employees on Thursday, which Variety reports is “just over 100 staffers.”
Will Shanklin01.11.2024
Audible is now testing ads in your audiobooks for some reason
Amazon-owned Audible has started putting ads in audiobooks, starting with a beta test for certain non-paying members. The ads will pop up in audiobooks, original content and podcasts, with a maximum limit of eight advertisements in a 24-hour period. The company has not indicated if the ads will eventually move to paying members or if an ad-based subscription tier is coming.
Lawrence Bonk03.30.2023
Spotify accuses Apple of impeding its fledgling audiobook business
Spotify launched its audiobook business just last month with 300,000 titles, but is now saying that Apple is engaging in "anticompetitive" behavior.
Steve Dent10.26.2022
Spotify dives into audiobooks with a library of over 300,000 titles
Spotify adds yet another content option to its audio library, but it's only available in the US for now.
Billy Steele09.20.2022
Barnes & Noble is finally offering an audiobook service
Barnes & Noble is launching an audiobook service — and it's arguably years late.
Jon Fingas04.07.2022
Spotify acquires audiobook platform Findaway
Spotify could soon be home to a lot more audiobooks. The streaming service has acquired audiobook platform Findaway, the companies announced.
Karissa Bell11.11.2021
Yoto is a podcast and audiobook machine built for kids
Kids can enjoy audiobooks and podcasts too thanks to the child-friendly Yoto Player and its library.
Kris Naudus04.23.2021
Google Play Books update brings audio narration to kids titles
Google is adding new audio resource tools to children's ebooks on Play Books including a kid-friendly dictionary and a bigger selection of audiobooks.
Saqib Shah03.02.2021
Waze adds Audible to its built-in audio player
Waze is making it easier to listen to your audiobooks while also using your phone for navigation. The Google subsidiary has added Audible to the list of streaming services you can access through its app’s built-in audio player.
Mariella Moon02.11.2021
Spotify dabbles in audiobooks by offering nine public-domain works
Spotify’s aggressive move into content beyond music continues today, as the company is testing a small “pilot” of audiobooks on the platform. Specifically, nine classic audiobooks will be available starting today. This isn’t technically the first time Spotify has offered audiobooks, though before it only had a star-studded reading of the first Harry Potter novel.
Nathan Ingraham01.25.2021
'Code Switch' from NPR is Apple's podcast of the year
Apple has chimed in with a selection of the most popular podcasts, audiobooks and books people in the US downloaded through its online stores.
Igor Bonifacic12.01.2020
Sonos can now stream free audiobooks from your local library
Sonos users can now borrow and stream audiobooks from their local libraries thanks to the free Libby app.
Marc DeAngelis04.30.2020
Audible teams with 'The Walking Dead' creators on audio originals
Audible's push into original content now includes a team-up with a company best-known for its comic books and TV shows. The Amazon-owned audiobook service has struck a deal with Skybound, the team behind The Walking Dead, to create multiple Audible originals. The two haven't said what's in the pipeline, but this is a "first look" pact that will give Audible dibs on projects that will only be made available elsewhere if the internet giant passes on them.
Jon Fingas08.13.2019
AI avatars of Chinese authors could soon narrate audiobooks
The Chinese search engine Sogou isn't stopping at AI news anchors. The company has created "lifelike" avatars of two Chinese authors, and it plans to have them narrate audiobooks in video recordings. According to the BBC, Sogou used AI, text-to-speech technology and video clips from the China Online Literature+ conference to create avatars of authors Yue Guan and Bu Xin Tian Shang Diao Xian Bing.
Christine Fisher08.13.2019