Spotify, the Stockholm-based music streaming service, has launched audiobooks in its home country of Sweden, as well as Finland, Denmark, and Iceland, bringing its service to one of the world's most mature digital audiobook markets. The catalog has 300,000 titles, including over 60,000 local-language titles: more than 29,000 in Danish, over 25,000 in Swedish, and over 19,000 in Finnish.

The launch marks Spotify's expansion into markets where audiobook subscriptions are already well-established, with competitors like Storytel and Bonnier-owned BookBeat commanding significant market share. Owen Smith, head of audiobooks at Spotify, said the company had secured partnerships with both Bonnier and Storytel's publishing companies.

The Nordic markets represent a test case for Spotify's audiobook strategy in regions where digital audio consumption—both music and audiobooks—already exceeds 50% of the market. Still, Smith said an opportunity exists to attract new listeners. "These are really rich, mature markets for audio listening," Smith said. "We don't have to explain what an audiobook is or how amazing they are. That's something we still think we have to do a lot in the rest of the world."

The Nordic launch is the where Spotify introduces Audiobooks Plus—a 20-hour subscription add-on—from day one, alongside the standard 12 hours included with Spotify Premium. Users who exceed their allotted hours can still purchase additional top-ups or buy books al-la-carte.

Smith positioned the expansion as an audience play rather than pure market growth. "Millions of people in the Nordics have Spotify in their pocket, and millions of people have a Spotify Premium subscription—many, many more millions than have an audiobook subscription," he said.

Negotiations are still underway with Norway, the only major Nordic country not on Spotify. "We're very interested in launching in Norway," Smith said. "That will come at some point, hopefully."

The company is also betting on its English-language catalog to attract Nordic readers. "There's a strong literary culture with major publishers like Bonnier," Smith said. "But there's also English authors and American authors that also have an audience there."