Spotify is on a quest to make reading an activity of the past. All jokes aside, the new feature launched by the popular streaming app adds another content type to its audiobook strategy — magazine articles.
Spotify launches "Articles" feature to narrate long-form journalism
The company has begun rolling out a long-form article narration feature aimed at bringing your favorite magazines to your ears.
It's part of a strong push for additional narrated content in the Audiobooks section, and starting today, users will have the option to listen to over 650 spoken magazine stories from publications including Rolling Stone, The Atlantic, Vogue, WIRED, Pitchfork, and Vanity Fair.
Poll
5 Votes
How often do you read magazines?
Articles cost $2 per piece for free Spotify users
Spotify is pushing hard to become an all-purpose audio app | Image by PhoneArena
The new feature is called "Articles," and the idea behind it is to let Spotify users consume journalism the same way they listen to podcasts.
These articles can be found in the audiobooks section, and each piece is less than two hours long.
As for the narration itself, it will be a mix of human and AI-generated content, according to TechCrunch. The AI narration will also be clearly marked.
For free Spotify users, these articles will cost $2 per piece, while Premium subscribers will be able to access the new feature using their monthly audiobook quota.
Recommended For You
Shorter audio content is seen as a gateway to audiobooks
Spotify thinks that in order to lure you into listening to whole books, it should start short. Colleen Prendergast, Spotify Audiobooks’ licensing lead, said that "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."
This feature is nothing new or groundbreaking, though. Direct competitors such as Audible have tried similar narrated short formats, and even big media outlets like The Economist and Financial Times have options to narrate long articles, but those never got enough traction to become a new mainstream format.
Spotify is transforming
The world is changing and so is Spotify. The power of AI now enables cheap and fast human-like narration of just about anything. Spotify is trying to seize this opportunity and transform from a pure music streaming service to an all-purpose audio platform.
Whether or not this transformation will be successful is too early to tell. The company recently announced Personal Podcasts - another AI-powered feature. Would you listen to magazine articles on Spotify?
Free Galaxy A17 5G with Straight Talk
Get a free Galaxy A17 with Straight Talk. To claim this deal, you need to pair the phone with activation on a Silver Unlimited Plan or higher. This tier costs $45 per month. Offer valid through 01/10/27 while supplies last online.
Mariyan, a tech enthusiast with a background in Nuclear Physics and Journalism, brings a unique perspective to PhoneArena. His childhood curiosity for gadgets evolved into a professional passion for technology, leading him to the role of Editor-in-Chief at PCWorld Bulgaria before joining PhoneArena. Mariyan's interests range from mainstream Android and iPhone debates to fringe technologies like graphene batteries and nanotechnology. Off-duty, he enjoys playing his electric guitar, practicing Japanese, and revisiting his love for video games and Haruki Murakami's works.
A discussion is a place, where people can voice their opinion, no matter if it
is positive, neutral or negative. However, when posting, one must stay true to the topic, and not just share some
random thoughts, which are not directly related to the matter.
Things that are NOT allowed:
Off-topic talk - you must stick to the subject of discussion
Offensive, hate speech - if you want to say something, say it politely
Spam/Advertisements - these posts are deleted
Multiple accounts - one person can have only one account
Impersonations and offensive nicknames - these accounts get banned
To help keep our community safe and free from spam, we apply temporary limits to newly created accounts:
New accounts created within the last 24 hours may experience restrictions on how frequently they can
post or comment.
These limits are in place as a precaution and will automatically lift.
Moderation is done by humans. We try to be as objective as possible and moderate with zero bias. If you think a
post should be moderated - please, report it.
Have a question about the rules or why you have been moderated/limited/banned? Please,
contact us.
Things that are NOT allowed:
To help keep our community safe and free from spam, we apply temporary limits to newly created accounts: