Spotify is rolling out Audiobook Charts | TechCrunch

Spotify is launching Audiobook Charts for the U.S. and U.K., the company announced on Friday. Similar to the streaming giant’s Music and Podcast Charts, the Audiobook Charts will be updated weekly and highlight the top audiobooks overall and by genre. These rankings are based on listening behavior and engagement on the streaming service, the company says.

The new charts are accessible to both free and paying users within the audiobooks hub. You can find them by tapping the search button in the app and selecting the “Audiobooks” tile to enter the hub. Then, you need to scroll down to the “Dive deeper” section to find the charts.

The move marks Spotify’s latest investment in the audiobooks space, following its official support of the format in 2022.

Since then, Spotify has continued investing in audiobooks with additional features like the recently-launched “Page Match” tool, which lets users scan a page from a physical book to instantly transition to that spot in the audiobook, and “Audiobook Recaps,” which are short audio summaries to catch you up on what you’ve already read so far.

Spotify says the new Audiobook Charts will benefit both readers and authors by giving listeners a trusted way to discover popular titles, while also creating new opportunities for authors and the publishing industry to reach wider audiences.

“As we’ve proven with Music and Podcasts Charts, when content is easier to access, discover, and enjoy, the demand grows,” said Duncan Bruce, Spotify’s Director of Audiobook Partnerships and Licensing, in a blog post. “We are delighted to now bring that to audiobooks, to help provide even more ways for users, publishers, and authors to discover what’s trending on Spotify, and make books more connected with culture in real time.”

It’s worth noting that Spotify isn’t only interested in audiobooks, as the streaming giant also recently ventured into physical book sales. Spotify announced earlier this month that users in the U.S. and the U.K. will soon be able to purchase physical copies of books directly within the app through a partnership with Bookshop.org.