Spotify launches audiobook store with some 300,000 titles

NEW YORK (AP) - The expanding audio books market has a major new retailer: Spotify.

On Tuesday, the music streaming service announced its long-rumored audiobook initiative, launching a store that includes more than 300,000 titles, including such popular works as Delia Owens' 'œWhere the Crawdads Sing,'ť Michelle Obama's 'œBecoming'ť and Colleen Hoover's 'œIt Ends With Us.'ť Spotify has previously offered audio books on a limited basis, including J.K. Rowling's 'œHarry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone'ť and such public domain novels as Mary Shelley's 'œFrankenstein'ť and Jane Austen's 'œPersuasion.'ť

'œWe've always believed that the potential for audio is limitless, and have been saying for a while now that our ambition is to be the complete package for everyone's listening needs,'ť Nir Zicherman, Spotify's vice president and global head of audiobooks and Gated Content, said Tuesday.

'œAudiobooks are next to come into the picture because we see a substantial untapped market: while audiobooks represent just a 6-7% share of the wider book market, the category is growing by 20% year over year.'ť

Other available works include Dave Grohl's 'œThe Storyteller,'ť James McBride's 'œDeacon King Kong'ť and Emily Henry's 'œPeople We Meet On Vacation.'ť

At least initially, Spotify will sell audio books individually, not on a subscription basis, at prices that are 'œcompetitive'ť with other sellers. According to a Spotify spokesperson, 'œAfter assessing testing and user research, we found that the best initial offering would allow users to purchase books individually," a policy which 'œallows for pricing flexibility and for more casual listeners to access audio books easily.'ť