More than 650 long-form pieces from Rolling Stone, The Atlantic, Vogue, and others are now available in English in markets where audiobooks are offered
Cheng Xin / Getty Images
Spotify $SPOT is trialing a new format that adds narrated long-form magazine articles to its platform alongside music, podcasts, and audiobooks. The catalog spans titles such as Rolling Stone, The Atlantic, Vogue, Variety, Billboard, GQ, Wired, Vanity Fair, and Pitchfork, with all content offered in English across the countries where Spotify's audiobook service operates.
Each article in the collection runs no longer than two hours, Spotify said, with all narration handled by the company's internal Audiobooks team. For those on a paid plan, the articles count against the same monthly allowance used for audiobooks; listeners on the free tier can buy access to a single article for $1.99.
The narration uses a mix of human and digital voices, according to The Verge. Spotify spokesperson Rosalind Jeffcoat told The Verge that any article relying on a synthesized voice will carry a visible label, and noted that AI-generated narration makes it more practical to convert shorter pieces that would otherwise never reach an audio audience.
"With Articles, we're introducing long-form journalism in audio as a natural extension of the music, podcasts, and audiobooks people already come to Spotify for, focused on topics we know they love," Colleen Prendergast, licensing lead at Spotify Audiobooks, said in a statement. "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."
Spotify described the new format as a gateway to longer-form listening, drawing a parallel to how podcast listeners have been converted into audiobook listeners. The company said its personalization and discovery features will help match articles to listeners most likely to engage with them.
Spotify's audiobook service, which got its start roughly two years ago, is now available in 22 countries, according to the company. Listening hours have grown 60% year over year, and the platform has reached tens of millions of new readers in that time.
About one in five audiobook sales in the United States now flows through Spotify's platform, co-CEO Alex Norström has said, as reported by Reuters. Spotify reported 293 million premium subscribers in the first quarter of 2026, with monthly active users reaching 761 million.
Join 500,000+ readers who start their day with Quartz.
By subscribing, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
