Tag: International

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.

Swedish Pop Star Tove Lo Kicks Off New Nordic Spotify Studio Program With Veronica Maggio Cover

April 1, 2020

From ABBA to Robyn, pop music remains one of Sweden’s greatest exports. And among the artists who have risen to international acclaim is Tove Lo, who helped us kick off the new Nordic Spotify studio program Studio It’s Hits by covering Swedish pop star Veronica Maggio’s “I’m Coming.”

Studio It’s Hits is an extension of Sweden’s most popular playlist, It’s Hits Sweden. The program invites some of the region’s top artists and songwriters to showcase their talent and creativity—whether by recording a cover, remaking one of their own songs, or releasing something totally new. 

“Our ambition is always to support artist creativity and make a positive impact in their career,” says Johan Seidefors, Head of Content Nordics, Spotify. “Through combining this new studio program with the extension of our biggest and most popular playlists, we can give more artists the chance to come to our studio, record something new, and present themselves to existing and new fans.” 

Tove’s cover was recorded earlier this year in Spotify’s headquarters studio in Stockholm. You might be familiar with the original version, “Jag kommer,” which has remained popular since its release a decade ago.

“This song has been one of my absolute favorites since it came out,” Tove told For the Record. “I have so many memories of it, and I’ve always been so impressed with Veronica Maggio’s way with words. I could never write in Swedish the way she can. It’s the perfect mix of poetic, ‘everyday romance’ and making the Swedish summertime feel epic and melancholic all at once.”

While the original song—which has amassed over 65 million streams on Spotify—was written and recorded in Swedish, Tove recorded her version in English. The song was produced by up-and-coming producer Elvira Anderfjärd.

“It was such a cool challenge to translate something so close to my heart and to work with my band and Elvira in the Spotify Studio. Experimenting and playing around with the sound was the perfect studio experience I know and love.”

From BTS to BLACKPINK, the Power of K-Pop Has No Bounds

February 24, 2020

K-Pop is beloved by fans around the world, so we took to the data to see just how popular the music is globally. The genre, which originated in South Korea, has since taken on a life of its own. Thanks to East-meets-West collaborations from BTS and U.S. singer-songwriter Halsey, whose “Boy With Luv” track has over 380 million streams, the reach continues to grow as more and more fans in countries like Egypt and Colombia connect with the music.

Since Spotify released its first K-Pop flagship playlist, K-Pop Daebak, in 2014 (and then a massive hub dedicated to the genre in 2015), there have been more than 41 billion K-Pop streams on Spotify. From rising artists to international collaborations, there’s something for both new and old K-Pop lovers on the platform.

Top-streamed K-Pop artists on Spotify include BTS, BLACKPINK, EXO, TWICE, and Red Velvet. In 2019, BTS was the first group from Asia to surpass 5 billion streams on Spotify. And, as of February 2020, the boy band reached a new milestone: more than 8 billion streams (8 billion streams!) on the platform.

No “FAKE LOVE” here, folks. See how much Spotify listeners love the genre.

Download the infographic here.

Check out the K-Pop Daebak playlist and stream BTS’ MAP OF THE SOUL : 7 The Enhanced Album, which is exclusively available on Spotify.