Spotify adding audiobook-only subscription tier 

Spotify is adding a new audiobook-only subscription tier, the streaming service announced Friday.

In a release, the company said beginning Friday, the new "Audiobooks Access Tier" would allow subscribers 15 hours of listening from its audiobooks catalog for $9.99 per month.

“With this plan and in one app experience, listeners can continue to tune into music and podcasts on our free, ad-supported service, offering a great option for literary enthusiasts who are looking for more audiobook-specific content,” Spotify continued in the release.

The audiobook-exclusive tier is currently $1 less than Spotify Premium, which offers the 15 hours of audiobook listening, along with other perks as well.

Spotify CEO Daniel Ek announced in December that it had plans to cut around 17 percent of its workforce in a third round of layoffs for the year. About 1,500 employees would be impacted, according to the streaming service’s third quarter earnings report. It had previously laid off about 600 workers in January 2023 and 200 members of its podcasting division in June 2023.

“Over the last two years, we’ve put significant emphasis on building Spotify into a truly great and sustainable business — one designed to achieve our goal of being the world’s leading audio company and one that will consistently drive profitability and growth into the future,” Ek said in a note to employees.

“While we’ve made worthy strides, as I’ve shared many times, we still have work to do,” he added. “Economic growth has slowed dramatically and capital has become more expensive. Spotify is not an exception to these realities.”

Spotify also recently struck a new deal with controversial podcaster Joe Rogan for his podcast “The Joe Rogan Experience.” The deal was estimated to be worth up to $250 million, according to The Wall Street Journal. Rogan’s controversies include comments he has made on the COVID-19 pandemic, politics and current events.