Spotify now sells physical books

Spotify is now a physical bookstore, y’all.

On Wednesday, the (mostly) music streaming company announced the launch of print book sales in the US and UK. In both of these markets, Spotify users can now order physical books, but only on the Android version of the app, with iOS support starting next week.

Spotify, which announced the move in February, has partnered with Bookshop.org for physical book sales. Bookshop.org is an online book marketplace that focuses on local, independent bookstores, selling both physical books and e-books.

Spotify launched audiobooks in September 2022 in the United States and has since steadily expanded its catalog and availability in other markets, including the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and several European countries. The company currently offers audiobooks in 22 markets and has a catalog of 700,000 titles.

As for why Spotify, initially a purely digital platform, is moving toward physical books, listen to Owen Smith, Spotify’s global head of audiobooks. “We believe the future of reading or listening should be flexible and fit more easily into people’s lives,” he said in February when the feature was first announced. “We’re extending Spotify’s discovery and engagement capabilities to audio and physical formats, so authors can make deeper connections with their audiences and books can follow readers wherever they go.”

On Wednesday, Spotify also launched several other features. One of these is the Page Match expansion, a feature that allows listeners to move seamlessly between eBooks, physical books, and audiobooks, in 30 additional languages. The company also expanded Audiobook Recaps to Android, launched Audiobook Charts in Germany, and introduced a dedicated children’s Audiobook Chart in the US and UK.