Spotify has big ambitions when it comes to audio. During the days dedicated to investors, the platform set the bar very high.
The company wants to reach one billion users and 100 billion in revenue within a decade.
To achieve this objective, Spotify is giving itself the means by investing massively in particular in podcasts and audio books.
The global book market is estimated at around $140 billion, audiobooks have a 6-7% market share currently, but Spotify is a firm believer in the explosion of audiobooks around the world.
Investing Audiobooks
In 2022, Spotify is heavily integrating audiobooks into its platform, making them available to over 400 million potential listeners.
But it does not stop there. Daniel Ek, CFO explains, “For each industry, we will develop a unique set of software, services, products and business models that will be tailored to that specific ecosystem. and this is indeed the case for books.
Regarding the audiobook, Spotify acquired Findaway in 2021. This platform connects independent authors and publishers with independent actors and manages the production and distribution of their audio books.
And on Tuesday, the company announced the acquisition of Vocal Ai Sonantic, a company specializing in artificial intelligence. They’ve developed some pretty interesting voice-focused technology.
These artificially generated voices can flirt, cry, scream, laugh with enough emotion to make it sound like a human. This technology will, for example, make it possible to produce audio books with several voices, unfortunately without actors and all at a lower cost.
Spotify’s goals for audiobooks and podcasts are huge, it will be interesting to watch how these investments evolve.
Interested in the audiobook? See our section here
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