Spotify Enters India's Audiobook Market With 3.5 Lakh Titles

Spotify has announced the launch of audiobooks in India, expanding its audio offerings beyond music and podcasts. With the launch, listeners can access a catalogue of more than 3.5 lakh English titles and nearly 7,000 Indian-language audiobooks across multiple genres.

As part of the launch, Spotify has introduced Audiobooks+, a subscription plan priced at Rs 199 per month, offering 15 hours of audiobook listening. The plan is available to both free and Premium users, with options to purchase additional listening hours or buy individual audiobook titles.

The Indian catalogue features works across Hindi, Tamil, Bengali, Marathi, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam, alongside international bestsellers. Titles available at launch include Premchand’s Godaan, Kalki’s Ponniyin Selvan, Rabindranath Tagore’s Kabuliwala, Dharamvir Bharati’s Gunahon Ka Devta and Ami Ganatra’s Mahabharata Unravelled.

Commenting on the launch, Amarjit Singh Batra, GM South Asia, Middle East, Africa and MD India at Spotify, said, “Storytelling in India has always been as much about listening as reading. By bringing audiobooks to Spotify, we are making books as accessible as the music and podcasts our listeners already enjoy.”

He added that the platform aims to help Indian listeners discover new books while enabling Indian authors, including independent and self-published writers, to reach audiences in India and internationally through Spotify for Authors.

The launch comes amid growing global interest in audiobooks. According to Spotify, its monthly audiobook listeners have increased by around 40% year-on-year, while listening hours have grown by more than 30%. In the US, listeners aged 18–34 account for 57% of audiobook audiences on the platform.

Globally, Spotify's audiobook catalogue now features more than 8 lakh titles from nearly 300 publishers and over 50,000 authors.

The India launch also brings features such as personalised audiobook recommendations, charts based on listening preferences, offline downloads and a sleep timer. Its Page Match feature allows users to scan the ISBN of a physical book and continue listening to the audiobook from the corresponding page.

Alongside the consumer launch, Spotify for Authors is also becoming available in India. The service will allow independent and self-published authors to distribute their audiobooks on Spotify, access listener insights from across the world and use marketing tools such as redemption codes. The partnerships will remain non-exclusive, allowing authors to distribute their work across other platforms.

Listeners can access audiobooks through the Audiobooks hub in the Spotify app by updating to its latest version and selecting a title. The Audiobooks+ subscription and individual title purchases can be managed through Spotify's platform.