Spotify has been looking for ways to add more sources of revenue and expand beyond music. This is why it started investing hugely to build its own podcast business. It now wants to make money from another form of audio. The company has acquired the leading audiobook platform Findaway. The digital audiobook distributor was founded in 2004 and it has been focusing mainly on bringing more audiobooks to listeners. The financial details of the deal have been not been disclosed yet. The deal is expected to be finalized in the fourth quarter of this year. However, it is subject to regulatory review and approval.
Findaway has some other brands too under its umbrella. The company operates Findaway Voices that connects authors and personal narrators. It is also running Audioworks which is mainly into producing audio for top publishers. Apart from this, the company has a brand named AudioEngine that allows developers to use tools and technology to integrate a broad catalog of audiobooks into their own platforms. It also has Playaway and Orange Sky Audio. So this is going to be a great deal for Spotify as Findaway has many products which definitely help the company to add more in terms of revenue. As part of the deal, Spotify would bring in entire team of around 150 people working for Findaway.
The acquisitions will give over 381 million subscribers of Spotify expanded access to audiobooks. Spotify’s head of Audiobooks Nir Zicherman said that the company plans to accelerate into the audiobooks space with this acquisition. Zicherman said there are many Spotify users who have no option but to visit other platforms to access audiobooks. “This is why the company had finalized the deal. This will help us to provide the users what they are looking for on other platforms,” Zicherman said. The acquisition is a well-thought-off plan as reports suggest that the audiobook industry is expected to grow to USD 15 billion by 2027. The acquisition is also the beginning of Spotify’s ambitious journey in the audiobooks space. Therefore, the company may expand the team further. For now, Spotify wants Findaway to continue to run all its brands.