Alongside AI-powered podcasting tools, Spotify on Thursday introduced a new ElevenLabs-backed AI tool for self-publishing audiobooks on the Spotify for Authors platform. The company said at its Investor Day event that the feature will launch in beta this June on an invite-only basis, initially with English-only support.
The AI-powered audiobook generation won’t bind authors to an exclusive contract, meaning they’re free to publish the audiobooks they create anywhere.
The news builds on Spotify’s previous partnership with ElevenLabs, which allowed authors to submit audiobooks created on the voice AI startup’s platform to Spotify.
The audio streaming platform also already had a partnership with Google Play Books to enable digital content storytelling. However, he might have wanted writers to have access to newer voice models that sound more expressive and human, such as those offered by ElevenLabs. In particular, ElevenLabs had launched its own self-publishing platform for authors in 2025.
Spotify is also expanding its ‘Spotify for Writers’ platform to support 10 more languages, including French, Canadian French, German, Dutch, Latin American Spanish, Swedish, Finnish, Icelandic, Danish and Norwegian.
Additionally, the company will expand its Audiobook+ plans this year to allow for higher listening limits and will add new options for students and families in the future. (However, Spotify did not specify pricing or usage details for these plans in its announcement.)
To date, Spotify has recorded over one million Audiobook+ subscriptions and is on track to generate $100 million in annual recurring revenue for the platform.
At the event, the company introduced a new way for users to ask questions using natural language to discover audiobooks. This summer, Spotify will also expand a feature that lets users create playlists based on prompts for podcasts and music to include audiobooks, he said.
Spotify has significantly increased its focus on audiobooks in recent years and has managed to build its catalog to 700,000 titles. The company brought the program to international markets, made an investment in non-English titles, enabled in-app purchases and launched audiobook charts. This year, it also launched a program for authors to sell physical books in the US and UK
Through these initiatives, the company has been able to increase listening hours by 60% year-on-year, the company claims. Spotify also said more than half of its audiobook listeners started in the last year.
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