Spotify Paid $120 Million to Acquire an Audiobook Platform

    Spotify said late last year it was buying audiobook platform Findaway.
    Sarah Tew/CNET
    

    We now know how much?Spotify?paid to acquire Findaway, an audio streaming platform that allows users to create and distribute their own audiobooks: €117 million, or $123 million, according to an?updated SEC filing?regarding the acquisition last November.
    The acquisition marks the music streaming giant’s ambitions to become the world’s leading audio platform, bringing music, podcast and audiobook streaming under one roof. Adding audiobooks to Spotify’s ever-growing library would allow the streaming service to bring in a new base of content creators and listeners to the service.?
    But while Spotify’s library of tunes and podcasts is available to everyone — either free with advertising or a subscription plan without ads and other perks — you may need to pay?extra to access audiobooks. This would be a significant shift for Spotify, moving toward an “a la carte” model for some, or all, audiobooks under its brand.
    
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    “We believe that audiobooks in their many different forms will be a massive opportunity,” Spotify CEO Daniel Ek said at an investor presentation last month. “This third vertical of audiobooks further builds on our ambitions to be the destination for creators. We’ve moved from being a music discovery and playback service, to a fully-fledged platform where artists and creators can create, engage, and earn. A platform fueled by subscription, advertising and creator service models, applied to music, podcasts, audiobooks and more.”