Music publishers accuse Spotify of 'bait-and-switch subscription scheme'

Spotify has once again drawn the ire of the music industry. The National Music Publishers' Association has called on the Federal Trade Commission to examine the streaming service's addition of audiobook content into all of its paid subscription plans. According to the group's FTC complaint, Spotify's recent actions are part of "a scheme to increase profits by deceiving consumers and cheating the music royalty system." This requires some backstory. In November 2023, Spotify announced that it would include 15 hours of audiobook content as part of all its Premium subscription plans. A few months later, the company unveiled a new audiobook-only subscription, offering the same number of listening hours for $10 a month. The publishers' organization claims that Spotify's recent price increases are based on offering that extra audiobook content, and that paying customers are automatically being charged for a service they didn't choose and can't opt out of without switching to the free, ad-supported listening experience. And the additional revenue from the higher Premium subscription costs may not go to the music composers. According to the FTC complaint, Spotify will pay about $150 million less in music royalties over the first year of these new bundled Premium plans. The NMPA letter goes so far as to call the new audiobook-only plan "a sham" that "exists solely to allow Spotify to claim that audiobook content is a significantly and independently valuable aspect of its 'bundled'... Continue reading at 'Engadget'

[ Engadget | 2024-06-12 23:52:55 UTC ]

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Cameron Esposito: Five Books for a Queer Road Trip

So you wanna take a queer road trip (like to every shooting location for both L Words) and are looking for audiobook companions, or—probably more accurately given the current pandemic of it all—you wanna hole up in your house alone for days on end, scouring the queer literary canon for... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-03-24 08:48:34 UTC ]
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10 of the Best Audiobook Series

Get ready for hours of listening because we've rounded up some of the very best audiobook series in a variety of genres for readers of all ages. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2020-03-23 10:37:15 UTC ]
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Where to Find the Best Audiobook Reviews Online

One audiobook listener scoured the internet and came up with this list of the best websites offering good audiobook reviews. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2020-03-23 10:34:10 UTC ]
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Alison Steadman and Daisy Edgar-Jones to voice The Switch audiobook

Quercus has announced that actresses Alison Steadman and Daisy Edgar-Jones will voice the audiobook for Beth O’Leary’s second novel, The Switch. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-22 19:29:39 UTC ]
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Audible Launches Audible Stories for Children and Teens While School is Out

Looking for ways to entertain kids and teens at home? Audible has launched Audible Stories, a free service that offers family-friendly educational and entertaining audiobook content. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2020-03-19 19:24:21 UTC ]
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Sales Skyrocket at Libro.fm and Bookshop.org

As a result of the coronavirus crisis, sales at digital audiobook store Libro.fm and online bookstore Bookshop.org have soared. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-03-16 04:00:00 UTC ]
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In Conversation with Jason Reynolds, National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature

Every Monday through Friday, AudioFile’s editors recommend the best in audiobook listening. We keep our daily episodes short and sweet, with audiobook clips to give you a sample of our featured listens. AudioFile’s Josephine Reed spoke with author and National Ambassador for Young People’s... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-03-10 08:48:25 UTC ]
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Lucy Ellmann’s 45-Hour Audiobook

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[ The Millions | 2020-03-04 21:30:45 UTC ]
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Audio Publishers Association Names 25th Anniversary Audie Awards

The journalist Garrett Graff's 'The Only Plane in the Sky'–on the attacks of 9/11–wins the Audiobook of the Year Audie for Simon & Schuster Audio. The post Audio Publishers Association Names 25th Anniversary Audie Awards appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-03-03 11:30:57 UTC ]
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A Buoyant 2020 Audie Awards Celebrates 'The Only Plane in the Sky,' Stephen King

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-03-03 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Your Fave Harry Potter Stars Are Making a TALES OF BEEDLE THE BARD Audiobook

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[ Book Riot | 2020-02-27 16:09:37 UTC ]
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Harry Potter stars to narrate Beedle the Bard audiobook

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[ The Bookseller | 2020-02-26 23:45:48 UTC ]
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[ Book Riot | 2020-02-25 11:31:17 UTC ]
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Film and Audiobook Rights 101

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[ Writer's Digest | 2020-02-21 11:00:57 UTC ]
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6 Audiobook Narrators I Need to Record More Books ASAP

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[ Book Riot | 2020-02-17 11:32:05 UTC ]
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Behind the Mic: On Run Me to Earth by Paul Yoon, Read by Ramón de Ocampo

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[ Literrary Hub | 2020-02-17 09:00:40 UTC ]
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Headline and Koomson launch open casting call for black female audiobook narrators

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[ The Bookseller | 2020-02-17 06:25:35 UTC ]
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Colin Kaepernick Launches Publishing House, Has Audible Audio Deal

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-02-14 05:00:00 UTC ]
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I found the most boring headline on the Internet.

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[ Literrary Hub | 2020-02-11 16:22:32 UTC ]
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