Spotify Revolutionizes Audiobook Creation with AI-Powered Tool
Spotify has made a significant move in the audiobook market by introducing an ElevenLabs-powered AI tool for self-publishing audiobooks within its platform. This innovative feature is set to launch in beta this June on an invite-only basis, initially supporting the English language only.
The AI-powered audiobook generation won't bind authors to an exclusive contract, giving them the freedom to publish their generated audiobooks anywhere. This move is a significant expansion of Spotify's previous partnership with ElevenLabs, which allowed writers to submit audiobooks created on the voice AI startup's platform to Spotify.
The audio streaming platform has also partnered with Google Play Books to allow for digitally narrated content, but it may have wanted authors to access newer voice models that sound more expressive and human-like, like those offered by ElevenLabs. Notably, ElevenLabs had released its own self-publishing platform for authors in 2025.
Expanding 'Spotify for Authors' Platform
In addition to the AI-powered audiobook creation tool, Spotify is expanding its 'Spotify for Authors' platform to support 10 more languages, including French, Canadian French, German, Dutch, Latin American Spanish, Swedish, Finnish, Icelandic, Danish, and Norwegian.
Enhanced Audiobook+ Plans and Features
The company will also expand its Audiobook+ plans this year to allow for higher listening limits and will add new options for students and families in the future. To date, Spotify has clocked in over a million Audiobook+ subscriptions, and it is on track to generate $100 million in annualized recurring revenue for the platform.
Natural Language Questioning and Prompt-Based Playlists
At the event, the company introduced a new way for users to ask questions using natural language for audiobook discovery. This summer, Spotify will also expand a feature that allows users to create prompt-based playlists for podcasts and music to include audiobooks.
Spotify's Growing Audiobook Catalog
Spotify has increased its focus on audiobooks heavily in the last few years and has managed to build its catalog to 700,000 titles. The company brought the program to international markets, made an investment in non-English titles, enabled in-app purchases, and released audiobook charts. This year, it also started a program for authors to sell physical books in the U.S. and the U.K.
Through these initiatives, the company has managed to bump up listening hours by 60% year-on-year, the company claims. Spotify also said that more than half of its audiobook listeners started in the last year.