Would you listen to magazine articles on Spotify? The streaming platform certainly hopes so, as it’s launching a new format for narrated long-form articles, alongside its usual array of music, podcasts, and audiobooks. Starting today, more than 650 articles from publications including Rolling Stone, The Atlantic, Vogue, Variety, Billboard, Vibe, GQ, Wired, Vanity Fair, and Pitchfork will be available in English in regions where Spotify’s audiobooks are available.
The narrated articles are all under two hours long, and available under the monthly audiobook allowance for Premium users. Free users who don’t pay for a subscription can also purchase articles for $1.99, which is the price per individual article, Spotify spokesperson Rosalind Jeffcoat tells The Verge.
“With Articles, we’re introducing long-form journalism in audio as a natural extension of the music, podcasts, and audiobooks people already come to Spotify for, focused on topics we know they love,” Colleen Prendergast, Spotify Audiobooks licensing lead, said in a statement. “By bringing shorter form content into the mix, we’re meeting audiences where they are to help build healthy listening habits, ultimately growing engagement with books over time.”
The narration for these new magazine articles “will use a mix of human and digital voice narration,” Jeffcoat said in a statement to The Verge. “The portion of the articles using digital voice narration will be clearly labelled for users. Digital voice narration can help lower the barriers to bringing certain written works in audio, particularly shorter pieces that may not otherwise have been produced in audio format.”
Update, May 26th: Added on-record statements from Spotify.
