Myth: Spotify is well-positioned to grow the digital audiobook market and expand its reach to new listeners and audiences.

Reality: The majority of Spotify’s existing users are in the 18-34 age range. This is the same as those who already buy audiobooks. 

Myth: The economic considerations are favorable for authors. 

Reality: Under Spotify’s free bundling of books, authors only get paid for the amount of time the user listens. Given that the majority of people don’t finish the books they start, authors are poised to make significantly less. Additionally, Spotify is angling to move audiobooks into “freebie” territory – evidenced by what the platform did to the music industry and how this new offering is already being publicly positioned. 

Myth: Spotify is a trusted and excellent partner to work with. 

Reality: While launching this new offering, Spotify kept publishers under strict NDAs around deal terms – leaving agents and authors, the ones who will actually be affected, completely in the dark. This lack of transparency is unacceptable when creators’ livelihoods are in question. 

Myth: Spotify will better promote more authors on a platform well-known to drive engagement.

Reality: Spotify has the power to blanket recommend which content reaches the masses, and is likely to push the upper class of creators, regardless of whether users are likely to listen to those creators or not.  

Myth: Publishers wouldn’t strike a deal for less money than they were making from other services in a surging digital audio market. 

Reality: Paying publishers for the amount of time that people listen to a book will cannibalize à la carte payments and drive other players to pursue similar models.