Spotify is expanding into a new arena: long-form magazine articles.
On Tuesday (May 26), the streaming service announced it will now host narrated audio articles from outlets including Rolling Stone, The Atlantic, Vogue, Variety, Billboard, Vibe, GQ, WIRED, Vanity Fair and Pitchfork. At launch, the platform is offering more than 650 long-form articles, which are now available in English to users who reside in markets where audiobooks are available. Each narrated article, included in Premium users’ monthly audiobooks allowance, is under two hours long. Free users can buy individual articles for $1.99 each.
“As we have seen with bringing audiences over from podcasts, Articles will allow people to trial shorter, less intimidating listens, opening the gateway to explore longer-form listening like books,” Spotify noted in a blog post about the launch.
“With Articles, we’re introducing long-form journalism in audio as a natural extension of the music, podcasts, and audiobooks people already come to Spotify for, focused on topics we know they love,” said Colleen Prendergast, licensing lead at Spotify Audiobooks, in a statement. “By bringing shorter form content into the mix, we’re meeting audiences where they are to help build healthy listening habits, ultimately growing engagement with books over time.”
“We’re thrilled to partner with Spotify in what we see as a natural synergy between two platforms that celebrate music and culture,” added Julian Holguin, CEO at Rolling Stone. “This collaboration with Articles allows us to deepen the connection between our readers and the artists, stories, and features they care about, while also providing an opportunity for discovery. By making Rolling Stone’s journalism more accessible on Spotify, we’re excited to bring our storytelling to an even wider audience.”
According to the blog post, Spotify has expanded audiobooks into 22 markets since launching just over two years ago and has grown listening hours 60% year over year.
