What do you primarily use Spotify for? Enjoying music? Keeping up with your favorite podcast? Listening to audiobooks? Well, the next time you open it (at least on Android) you can just use it to buy a book—not just an ebook, but a physical book.
Spotify is officially a bookseller
Reported by TechCrunchSpotify is now selling physical books on its Android app to users in the US and UK, with plans to roll out the feature to iPhones next week. The company The initiative was first announced in FebruaryIt states that it is partnering with him Bookshop.org To facilitate transactions. This isn’t your typical corporate deal, either: Bookshop.org is designed to connect buyers with their local independent bookstores, rather than some giant conglomerate or distributor. Bookshop says 50% of the book’s sale price goes directly to the publisher (who then pays the author), while 30% goes to the bookstore you choose upon purchase. Another 10% goes to a profit-sharing fund that is shared among all the bookstores the site operates.
It seems a little silly to think of buying a book through Spotify, an app that was originally just for music. But like many platforms, Spotify has adapted and expanded its offerings over the years. It already sells audiobooks, so why not print and e-books? In effect, Spotify is now competing directly with Amazon where you can go for all your literary needs, whether you prefer to read or listen to your books. Perhaps a Spotify-branded e-reader is next—though Last time Spotify tried to sell its own device, It didn’t end up working very well
Note that there is no dedicated storefront for buying books on Spotify. Instead, you’ll see a “Get a copy for your bookshelf” button under individual audiobooks. When you select this, you will be taken to that book’s Bookshop.org page.
What do you think so far?
Spotify’s “Page Match” and “Audiobook Recaps” are also getting updates
In addition to this news, Spotify also announced an update to Page Match, its feature that lets you sync your location to a book using your phone’s camera. The feature now supports more than 30 languages, including French, German and Swedish. Spotify’s audiobook summary feature, “Audiobook Recaps,” is also now accessible on Android. Previously, this feature was exclusive to iOS, and allowed users to listen to a summary of what they had already heard in an audiobook.
Audiobook charts throughout the app have also been updated, showing consumers which books are currently selling best. Audiobook Charts recently launched in Germany, and the US. And users in the UK now also have a dedicated chart for the most popular children’s and family-oriented audiobooks.
