Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge
Spotify is planning on rolling out a free audiobook trial for subscribers, The Wall Street Journal reports. The pilot program will feature titles from some of the largest US publishers, and users can expect up to 20 hours of listening — roughly two audiobooks — per month.
Spotify first began offering audiobooks last year after acquiring Findaway, an audiobook platform. The main difference is it’s so far been using a pay-per-download model. However, as the WSJ notes, users had to purchase audiobooks via a web browser in an attempt to circumvent Apple’s 30 percent commission for in-app purchases. The pilot program will instead allow users to download books directly within the app.
The program will purportedly roll out to English-speaking…