Spotify's audiobook selection is expanding with their most recent deal: They're buying up the 131-book 33 1/3 series from UK-based publisher Bloomsbury Publishing. The books, non-fiction explorations of popular music that take a deep dive into a single album per volume, will be offered through Spotify's service in "a variety of formats," Reuters reports.
"As a die-hard music fan, I discovered the 33 1/3 series many years ago," Courtney Holt, Vice President and Head of Spotify Studios and Video, told Music Business Worldwide. "When I first joined Spotify to think about spoken word and audio content, I knew this would be a perfect partner for Spotify. We look forward to bringing this amazing series to our global music-loving audience."
The content partnership highlights two interesting details about Spotify's plans for future growth. First, it's an indicator that Spotify's audiobook content goals are aimed at superfans of the music streaming service: 33 1/3 is a series written by and for music obsessives, offering up installments about obscure classics alongside more well-known names like David Bowie, Nirvana, or Radiohead.
The second detail is a little less clear at this time: The "variety of formats" mentioned in the deal announcement is a little vague. Will Spotify be selling hardcopies of the audiobooks? Will it incorporate the albums being discussed themselves into 33 1/3 audiobooks, as a form of mixed media? This last option is perhaps the most likely: A combination album/book might alternate between album tracks and audiobook chapters. The purists may object, but many hoping to deepen their understanding of their favorite album would jump at the chance to listen.
Spotify wouldn't be the first publisher to explore the myriad of ways to mix and mash audio storytelling with the book industry, as I covered in a recent article: By combining the seemingly separate mediums of audio and print, publishers can cross-pollinate their audiences, giving sales on both ends a shot in the arm.
Whatever their aims, Spotify is wise to push forward with their content strategy. Since its stock opened for public trading on the New York Stock Exchange last month, with a massive market capitalization of $27 billion, its hasn't been standing still. Spotify's new ad-supported, personalized streaming app launched later that month. Also, the big music labels are cashing out: Spotify's biggest stakeholder, Sony, announced last week the sales of around half its shares for around $750 million, and yesterday Warner Music Group announced a similar sale, 75% of its shares for $400 million. Investors can be easily disappointed, but Spotify's continued exploration of interesting content partnerships like its 33 1/3 deal with Bloomsbury show that the streaming service is finding new directions to grow.
