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Spotify launches New Audiobook Section as Test of Non-Music Streaming

Feb 04,2024
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In the past few years, Spotify has grown beyond music streaming by offering more categories like podcasts. Now, as a test the platform has launched nine classic audiobooks that are part of the public domain but have been recorded exclusively for Spotify. Last Monday, Spotify introduced the following audiobooks -

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein narrated by David Dobrik
Frederick Douglass’ Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave narrated by Forest Whitaker
Kate Chopin’s The Awakening narrated by Hilary Swank
Jane Austen’s Persuasion narrated by Cynthia Erivo
Jean Toomer’s Cane narrated by Audra McDonald
Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations narrated by James Langton
Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre narrate by Sarah Coombs
Nella Larsen’s Passing narrated by Bahni Turpin
Stephen Crane’s Red Badge of Courage narrated by Santino Fontana

According to recent reports, this isn't Spotify's first attempt at audiobooks. The platform previously launched the first book of the Harry Potter series with chapters read by popular stars such as David Beckham, Daniel Radcliffe, and Dakota Fanning. However, for some unfortunate reasons, the audiobooks were removed from the platform.

As Spotify is likely to expand to the non-music streaming side, Apple is reportedly aiming to do the same. Notably, Audible has also started offering podcasts to rival Spotify.