Tag: Austria

Spotify Expands Its Audiobooks Offering To Listeners In Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein

April 15, 2025

As the world’s most popular audio-streaming subscription service, Spotify is committed to expanding the audiobook industry, enabling more listeners than ever to discover and engage, and paving the way for future innovation.

We saw early adoption of podcasts and audiobooks in Germany, with labels and fans embracing both formats. Recognizing this potential, we spoke to our users and began innovating and building podcasts globally. 

There’s already a strong appetite for audiobooks across German-speaking markets. With millions of people enjoying audiobooks on Spotify in Germany, we’re excited to enhance this experience by providing a Premium experience for our users of Spotify Individual and Duo or Family Plan Managers.

Today we’re launching an enhanced audiobooks offering in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein. Eligible Premium listeners in these markets will have access to 350,000 audiobooks, including titles in German, French, and Italian.

Eligible Premium subscribers will receive 12 hours of audiobook listening each month, and additional 10-hour allocations can be purchased as needed from €9.99. Listeners without an eligible Premium subscription will be able to pay to unlock access to individual audiobook titles a la carte. 

Delivering a better listening experience 

In Germany, there’s a rich tradition of storytelling and “Hörspiele” (audio plays), which has paved the way for the popularity of audiobooks. Today, audiobooks are a significant part of the cultural landscape, preserving and promoting literature in a modern format. 

With Audiobooks in Premium, users will find a host of new benefits that will make the listening experience even better. Along with an expanded catalog—which includes titles like Cornelia Funke’s Tintenherz, Caroline Wahl’s 22 Bahnen, and Rebecca Yarros’ Fourth Wing—listeners can:

  • Search more easily via our dedicated Audiobooks tab.
  • Explore recommendations from our Home feed.
  • Access our hub to discover top titles curated by our editorial experts. 
  • Save their progress in an audiobook, ensuring they can easily pick up where they left off during their next listening session. 
  • Pre-save upcoming releases from their favorite authors with Countdown Pages.
  • Use our Spotify Sleep Timer so they don’t lose their place.

“We are turning up the volume on where people are already listening, and getting even more great stories to them with this new catalog and listening experience. In the markets where we have already launched, we’ve already accelerated growth for the audiobook business, and that’s what we’re committed to doing here in Germany and across Austria, Switzerland and Liechtenstein,” said David Kaefer, VP Audiobooks Business.

Find your next great read by browsing the Audiobooks hub on Spotify.

*Terms apply. 12 hours/month from our subscriber catalog available to Individual and Duo or Family Plan Managers only.

The Spotify Partner Program Expands To Nine New Markets, Giving More Creators New Ways To Monetize Their Content

March 27, 2025

Since announcing the Spotify Partner Program last fall, we’ve heard from creators who are optimistic about the flexibility, control, and opportunity that our new monetization program provides. And following the successful January launch in the US, U.K., Canada and Australia, we’re expanding the Spotify Partner Program to nine new markets. 

Starting April 29, eligible creators in France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Ireland, New Zealand, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland are able to enroll. 

The Spotify Partner Program offers audience-driven payouts to creators from Spotify Premium video engagement and the ability to monetize via ads in Spotify Free and on all other podcast listening platforms. This can help creators navigate seasonality shifts and shifts in brand/advertiser interest and give them a more consistent, reliable way to earn. 

As a brand-new revenue stream for enrolled shows, Spotify Partner Program delivered impressive results immediately. Hundreds of podcast creators surpassed $10,000 in monthly revenue, with the top earners crossing well into six figures in the first month alone. 

Additionally, Spotify Partner Program creators in the US, Canada, UK, and Australia will have more opportunities to earn Premium video revenue for listeners in new markets starting on April 29. 

Video podcasts are on the rise, and the number of creators actively publishing videos monthly on Spotify has grown by more than 50% year over year. Listeners are responding in kind, with over 250 million users having watched a podcast on Spotify, and nearly two-thirds of podcast listeners saying they prefer podcasts with video.

With more creators able to enroll in Spotify Partner Program, listeners will have access to a bigger and better catalog of video podcasts, as well as seamless background and foreground toggling. Premium users will also have the ability to watch videos with fewer ads. While a creator’s baked-in sponsorships will remain in the episode, traditional dynamic ads will not interrupt the video for Premium users, creating a seamless experience on any device.

“Spotify is committed to providing creators with more options to grow their audience and engage with fans on the format that best suits their style and show—either audio, video or both,” said Roman Wasenmüller, Head of Podcast Business at Spotify. “As we continue to evolve and expand the Spotify Partner Program, we are focusing on increased revenue and consumption for creators.”

Spotify has led audio streaming worldwide for nearly two decades. As video accelerates, we’re investing to make Spotify the video and audio destination for creators and listeners. With the Spotify Partner Program, we’re helping creators build and retain loyal audiences by delivering the best possible version of their content.

Find out more about the Spotify Partner Program by visiting the Spotify for Creators website.

Austria’s My Ugly Clementine Rocks the Indie Scene as Spotify’s EQUAL Global Artist of the Month

June 13, 2023

the band My Ugly Clementine posting in front of the camera in a room

Listen to one song from My Ugly Clementine and you might imagine that the ’90s are back. Counting Radiohead as one of its inspirations, the Vienna-based indie outfit is comprised of Sophie Lindinger, Mira Lu Kovacs, and Nastasja Ronck. All three members of the non-male rock band have experienced success in previous musical projects—whether solo, as a duo, or in a band—but their talents collided in 2020 on their debut album, Vitamin C.

Vitamin C was critically acclaimed and earned the trio the 2021 IMPALA Album of the Year Award. Since then, the band has performed across Europe and is readying its next album, The Good Life, due in August.

My Ugly Clementine is also Spotify’s EQUAL Global Artist for June. The EQUAL Global Music Program launched in 2021 with the aim of combating gender disparity in the music industry by amplifying and celebrating the work of women creators around the world. Sophie, Mira, and Nastasja currently adorn the cover of the EQUAL Global playlist, and their new single “Feet Up” is featured in the top spot.

For the Record asked the band to fill in the blanks about its creative process and inspirations.

The artists who have most inspired us are _____.

HAIM, Avril Lavigne, Radiohead, Ani DiFranco, Julia Jacklin, and Courtney Barnett.

One piece of advice we’d give other emerging artists is _____.

Communicate! Communication is key when it comes to working as a team and with a crew. To get anything accomplished, it is absolutely necessary to talk to each other. Without that, we wouldn’t be able to put anything together—a tour, a music video—let alone write songs together.

One notable moment in our career so far is _____.

When we won the IMPALA award in 2021. That meant a lot to us, but it was hard to grasp because we couldn’t celebrate like we wanted to . . . COVID, remember?

Our creative process consists of _____.

Spending time with each other, having deep talks, and trying to make sense of our struggles and insecurities by working through it . . . mostly together. Art is therapy.

One way we’d like to see greater gender equity in the music industry is _____.

By simply booking the big festivals equally. Honestly, we find it embarrassing to see a festival nowadays announcing a lineup with maybe 2% non-cis-male-fronted bands. That still happens a lot and it’s unacceptable, especially because there is impeccable queer and female talent everywhere you look.

A few up-and-coming women and nonbinary artists we’re excited to watch are _____.

Albertine Sarges, Mhaol, Slow Pulp, Squirrel Flower, and Claud.

Songs that make us feel gender euphoria are _____.

There are definitely songs like “Faceshopping” by SOPHIE or “Europe Is Lost” by Kae Tempest that we celebrate! Also, artists who defy gender roles and norms just by existing and being seen are the ones we aspire to and who we want to see on festival lineups much more.

 

Check out music from My Ugly Clementine, as well as other talented women artists, in our EQUAL playlist below.

Spotify Listeners in 11 Markets Can Now Ask Alexa to Play Podcasts—Here’s How

December 16, 2020

Last year, we announced that U.S. listeners could ask their Amazon Alexa devices to play their favorite podcasts. Starting today, listeners in 11 new markets—Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Canada, Brazil, India, Austria, and Ireland—can ask Alexa to do the same. 

Podcasts delight, entertain, inform, and inspire people across the world, and there’s always more to stream, for both Free and Premium listeners. Now with Alexa, you can get listening to any of the millions more on Spotify—just by using your voice.

Ready to get started? Setup is easy, and only takes a few moments:

  1. Go to the Amazon Alexa App.
  2. Open the menu, head to Settings, then Music & Podcasts.
  3. If Spotify is not connected, tap “Link New Service” and select Spotify.
  4. Link your Spotify account to your Alexa account.
  5. If you’re in Brazil, Mexico, Germany, or the UK, tap “Default Services,” and then select Spotify as the default podcast service.
  6. Say “Alexa, play [your podcast of choice] podcast on Spotify” and get listening!


Not sure what to start with? New podcasts from every market and in many languages are increasingly available on Spotify. Just check out a few that have come out in each of the markets where Alexa is available this year:

To learn more about playing podcasts on all your Alexa devices at home, head to the Amazon Alexa Explore Spotify page.

*Update February 4, 2021: Listeners in Japan, Australia, and New Zealand can now ask Amazon Alexa devices to play their favorite podcasts.

*Update March 31, 2021: Listeners in Chile, Argentina, Colombia, Costa Rica, Peru, Sweden, Poland, and the Netherlands can now ask Amazon Alexa devices to play their favorite podcasts.

*Update April 28, 2021: Listeners in Belgium and Switzerland can now ask Amazon Alexa devices to play their favorite podcasts.

*Update May 26, 2021: Listeners in Singapore, Denmark, and Norway can now ask Amazon Alexa devices to play their favorite podcasts.

*Update June 16, 2021: Listeners in Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines can now ask Amazon Alexa devices to play their favorite podcasts.

*Update December 8, 2021: Listeners in Saudi Arabia and U.A.E can now ask Amazon Alexa devices to play their favorite songs on Spotify. Users in U.A.E can also enjoy their favorite podcasts.

*Update May 25, 2022: Listeners in Ecuador, Hong Kong, South Africa, Taiwan, and Thailand can now ask Amazon Alexa devices to play their favorite music and podcasts.