Spotify’s Basic plan returns to $11 a month by cutting audiobooks

Spotify has a new plan for US subscribers that keeps you on the old $11 monthly pricing — as long as you don’t mind ditching audiobooks. The new Basic tier includes the music and podcast content you get from Premium but without 15 hours of audiobook access, a recently added feature we suspect many subscribers don’t care about anyway. Spotify said earlier this month it would hike Premium prices to $12 per month, beginning in July. The Basic plan echoes one it rolled out in the UK last month. That one costs £11 per month compared to £12 for Premium with audiobook content. Some have suspected Spotify’s audiobook push has nefarious motives. Earlier this month, the National Music Publishers’ Association asked the Federal Trade Commission to investigate the move, going as far as calling the company’s audiobook integration “a scheme to increase profits by deceiving consumers and cheating the music royalty system.” The NMPA complaint claims Spotify will pay about $150 million less in music royalties over the next year because of its audiobook fusion. Spotify told Engadget it did nothing wrong and rejected the accusations. Spotify has been penny-pinching in other areas. It was reported last year that the company planned to overhaul its royalty model. One alleged part of that plan was to demonetize tracks earning less than five cents per month, pushing out some indie artists without established audiences.  Spotify also laid off around 9,000 employees late last year, citing “the gap... Continue reading at 'Engadget'

[ Engadget | 2024-06-21 18:36:40 UTC ]
News tagged with: #association asked #audiobook integration #increase profits #deceiving consumers #$150 million #audiobook fusion #royalty model #alleged part #indie artists #established audiences #audiobook-free tier #account page #picking basic #basic option #audiobook

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Spotify takes on Amazon with a huge leap into the audiobook business

With more than 300,000 audiobook titles available to purchase a la carte, Spotify says this is ‘just the beginning.’ After taking on Apple and Pandora, Spotify appears to be setting its sights on Amazon.Read Full Story Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2022-09-20 17:05:45 UTC ]
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Hachette Book Group Plans Return to Offices Starting in Late April

Hachette Book Group employees will begin their return to working from company offices this April, CEO Michael Pietsch has announced to staff. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-03-16 04:00:00 UTC ]
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David Sedaris and Tracey Ullman voice one of this month’s best audiobooks

The narration of ‘Carnival of Snackery’ is wonderful. Other great listens: ‘The Five Wounds’ and ‘Psycho by the Sea’ Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2021-12-05 12:00:00 UTC ]
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Spotify Gets Into the Audiobook Business

Looking to accelerate its expansion into the audiobook market, the Swedish audio streaming subscription service giant Spotify has agreed to acquire Ohio-based digital audiobook distributor Findaway for an undisclosed price. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-11-12 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Spotify acquires audiobook platform Findaway

Spotify could soon be home to a lot more audiobooks. The streaming service has acquired audiobook platform Findaway, the companies announced. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the acquisition suggests Spotify is looking to build out its own library of audiobook titles.Findaway is an... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2021-11-11 21:00:04 UTC ]
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11 books to add to your reading list next month

Coming in November: Sam Quinones, Ann Patchett, Emily Ratajkowski, Nikole Hannah-Jones, Gary Shteyngart, Natashia Deón — and the list goes on. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2021-10-29 13:00:45 UTC ]
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Best new audiobooks to listen to this month

For your entertainment and education: stories by Lianae Moriarty, Honoree Fanonne Jeffers and Alan Taylor Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2021-10-18 12:00:00 UTC ]
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Pietsch Reveals HBG Hybrid Plan to Return to Office

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-07-01 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Danger and Depth in Literary Thrillers: This Month’s Audiobook Recommendations

“A spoonful of honey makes the medicine go down,” says S. A. Cosby on the appeal of thrillers. The medicine he’s referring to is themes like racism, poverty, and income inequality woven throughout his debut novel, Blacktop Wasteland. “It’s easier to talk about those things,” Cosby says, “if... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-11-23 09:48:50 UTC ]
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Ken Follett’s latest epic is among the best audiobooks this month

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[ The Washington Post | 2020-11-17 13:00:00 UTC ]
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Job cuts on the way as Frankfurt Book Fair considers future plans

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[ The Bookseller | 2020-11-13 02:55:29 UTC ]
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Spotify Eyes Audiobooks

The music streaming giant is poised to enter the audiobook market. Here's what that means for publishers. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-09-25 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Three Months After Shutting Its Doors, San Diego Magazine Returns

When San Diego magazine abruptly ceased operations and laid off nearly all of its employees in late March, mere days after a statewide shelter-in-place order took effect in California, CEO and publisher Jim Fitzpatrick stressed that it was only a temporary pause and that he hoped the magazine... Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2020-06-15 18:27:52 UTC ]
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Publishers start to plan for staffers' return to the office

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[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-09 22:45:56 UTC ]
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For your playlist: The best new audiobooks of the month

An atmospheric thriller, a continent-hopping mystery and a madcap historical novel. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-03-03 17:00:00 UTC ]
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Sheen returns to narrate new Philip Pullman audiobook

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PRH publishes gender pay gap nine months early and unveils plans for parental leave

Penguin Random House has revealed its gender pay gap figures nine months early with a largely unchanged balance sheet but with a new initiative which sees all new parents at the company given the opportunity to take 12 months off from next year. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-07-24 23:00:06 UTC ]
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'Orphan Black' is returning as a ten-episode audiobook series

A little under two years after its five-season run ended on BBC America, Orphan Black is returning with a bang, and probably loads more sound effects. Fiction publishing startup Serial Box is reviving the beloved sci-fi show this summer as a ten-epis... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2019-06-13 22:51:00 UTC ]
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BuzzFeed loses 11 staff in Australia amid global job cuts

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[ The Guardian | 2019-01-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Industry Notes: Simon & Schuster’s New Book Club; GraphicAudio Plans Audiobook Tie-Ins

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