The next step in Spotify’s audio takeover is here, as the platform introduces various Audiobooks. Once Spotify dominates the music market, they ventured into podcasting, now one of, if not the dominate force in the industry. The next form of audio the company plans to take on is that of Audiobooks.
Among the works, which are all part of the public domain, are David Dobrik narrating Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein; Forest Whitaker reading Frederick Douglass’ memoir Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave; and Hilary Swank narrating Kate Chopin’s The Awakening. It’s also releasing an accompanying audio series called Sitting with the Classics on Spotify, a show in which Harvard professor Glenda Carpio explains the stories’ histories and narratives for a modern listenership.
Although this is Spotify’s biggest effort in audiobooks to date, it’s not its first attempt. The company first partnered with J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World to release Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone in audio form. The chapters, which came out weekly, featured celebrities like Daniel Radcliffe, Dakota Fanning, Claudia Kim, and David Beckham. (The show no longer appears to be listed in Spotify).
These few audiobooks now on the platform seem to be the initial test from Spotify, as they likely hope to host the millions of audiobooks in existence on platforms such as Audible in the future.
