Storytel and Spotify sign audiobooks partnership

Swedish subscription-based audiobook streaming service provider Storytel (STORYb.ST) announced that it has partnered with music streaming giant Spotify (SPOT.N) to enable subscribers to get access to its wide audiobook library on Spotify. After the announcement, Storytel’s shares rose by 17%. 

Founded in 20067 Storytel allows its customers to listen and read over 500,000 titles across 25 markets and in 30 languages. It currently has more than 1.6 million subscribers.  

Jonas Tellander, the founder and CEO of Storytel, said: “Partnering with Spotify make amazing audiobook experiences and exciting authorships easier than ever to access for our customers, while we will also be tapping into the opportunity of reaching new audiences who are on Spotify today, but have not yet experienced the magic of audiobooks.”

Spotify is now one of the most popular audio streaming apps in the world with over 356 million monthly active users from 150 countries. 

Also Read: Spotify Revenue and Usage Statistics

The company recently partnered with Facebook and introduced a miniplayer to let users stream Spotify inside the Facebook app. 

In January, it added 9 public domain audiobooks with exclusive recordings which were highly appreciated. 

“It is Spotify’s goal to be the singular platform for all audio: music, podcasts, live conversations, and now via this partnership, audiobooks.’’ said Courtney Holt, Global Head of Studios at Spotify.  By utilizing the Spotify Open Access Platform, Storytel will be able to deliver its premium audiobooks offering to their audience using Spotify’s best-in-class platform, all while retaining direct control over their relationship to their audience.”

However, Spotify users will be required to be a Storytel subscriber in order to listen to its audiobooks.