Our aim is to bring great audiobooks to as many people as possible, and we’re glad to give book fans more options as they discover their next great listens. Spotify Audiobooks—our in-house audiobook publishing imprint—has entered into an exclusive audiobook publishing partnership with Crooked Lane Books/Alcove Press, a leading publisher spanning commercial fiction genres and select nonfiction.
Under the partnership, Spotify Audiobooks will publish titles from Crooked Lane and Alcove’s frontlist catalogs beginning March 2025. Titles will be distributed widely on Spotify via Spotify’s Audiobooks in Premium offering and available to purchase a la carte, as well as across more than 30 other digital retail and library channels.
“Crooked Lane is thrilled. Spotify’s position as both a distributor and audiobook publisher plus their innovative approach make them the ideal partner,” said Matthew Martz, publisher at Crooked Lane and Alcove. “With over hundreds of millions of paid subscribers, we’re confident that Spotify will bring our books to new listeners. Spotify has done great work with our titles, and we know our authors are in the best possible hands.”
“We are so excited to kick off 2025 with such an important partnership,” Henna Silvennoinen, Associate Manager of Audiobooks at Spotify, said. “We’ve admired Crooked Lane’s catalog for years. Their strong commercial stories will appeal to listeners on Spotify and beyond, and this is just the beginning. We believe that partnering will elevate Crooked Lane and Spotify’s publishing to a whole new level.”
Spotify listeners around the world have embraced our Audiobooks in Premium offering, and we continue to grow our catalog of titles to give them more options to discover and enjoy. Thanks to a new partnership with publisher Podium Entertainment, there are even more reasons for audiobook lovers to cheer: Podium is one of the largest audiobook publishers in the world and an industry leader in the genres of science fiction, fantasy, and romance, and beginning today many of its popular and award-winning titles will be available to Spotify listeners.
“Spotify is building a worldwide audience for audiobooks and reimagining what the format can be for authors and their fans,” said Duncan Bruce, Director, Audiobook Partnerships & Licensing, at Spotify. “We’re proud to partner with the great folks at Podium to further enrich our catalog of titles and bring more stories that readers love to Audiobooks in Premium.”
Audiobooks in Premium gives eligible paid subscribers 12-15 hours of audiobook listening per month. Through this offering, eligible listeners can easily explore, discover, and try audiobooks on Spotify with just one click.
“We are incredibly excited to launch some of the industry’s hottest audiobooks with Spotify this week,” said Scott Dickey, CEO of Podium Entertainment. “As a rapidly expanding publisher with a catalog filled with extraordinary stories, this partnership with Spotify represents a tremendous opportunity to expand our fan base and reach new listeners on behalf of the amazing authors we represent at Podium.”
Spotify listeners can’t get enough of sci-fi, fantasy, and romance audiobooks
On Spotify, the sci-fi & fantasy genres continue to gain popularity with listeners. At the end of 2024, the genre ranked in the top three for completion rates for audiobooks on our platform and in the top five for both return rates and hours per use. Now, with titles like Callie Hart’s #1 best-selling audiobook Quicksilver, the BookTok favorite The Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent, and so much more, fans on Spotify have even more options to dive into.
Spotify is continually testing ways to bring fans closer to the stories they love, so selected Podium titles will leverage video clips to help listeners explore and discover audiobooks in new ways. Much like a digital book jacket, these videos help contextualize an audiobook for users so they can assess it before they commit to pressing play.
Investing in the future of music means investing in the next generation of artists. That’s the driving force behind Spotify’s multiyear partnership with Fryshuset, a Swedish nonprofit youth organization. Together, we’re helping young people develop and express themselves through music and culture.
The collaboration kicked off in 2024 with music camps at Fryshuset centers in Gothenburg, Helsingborg, Malmö, and Stockholm, providing more than 100 promising young artists with masterclasses, studio time, and opportunities to create and collaborate. Get a behind-the-scenes look at their creative journeys in the film below.
The result? Fryshuset x Spotify, a playlist of 27 original songs showcasing the talent emerging from these workshops. The tracks recently debuted on Spotify and were celebrated with a release party at our Stockholm headquarters.
“Together with Spotify, we want to give more young people meaningful free time with music and culture,” said Karl Bjurman, project manager at Fryshuset. “The playlist is a tribute to young people’s creativity and an opportunity for them to share their music with a wider audience.”
This initiative comes at a crucial time in Sweden, following cuts to state funding for community arts schools in 2023. Spotify and Fryshuset aim to bridge the gap, providing vital resources and opportunities for young music enthusiasts. Future projects will include more studio sessions, training, and events to support emerging artists.
This partnership builds on Spotify’s ongoing support for youth music programs. Similar initiatives, like our collaborations with Mentivity and Youth Music in the U.K., demonstrate Spotify’s commitment to nurturing young talent and providing access to creative spaces.
On August 25 and 26, an estimated 2 million attendees will flock to London for Notting Hill Carnival, a vibrant celebration of the U.K.’s Caribbean community. As one of Europe’s biggest street festivals, the annual event brings a spectacular display of costumes, colors, and sounds to the city. Revelers take to the streets for parades, food, and music, with sound systems and DJs spinning dub, reggae, soca, soulful house, and everything in between.
As part of our commitment to celebrating Caribbean culture and amplifying Black voices around the world, Spotify is proud to partner with Notting Hill Carnival for the fifth consecutive year. And this year, we’re marking the occasion with our newly launched Carnival Sounds hub on Spotify, bringing fans the opportunity to experience the music, stories, and culture they know and love in one place.
Want to discover reggae’s very best? Our Irie playlist has you covered. Craving the faster-paced, drum-heavy rhythms of soca? Look no further than Massive Soca Hits. There’s also the Carnival Sounds 2024 playlist, our popular Dancehall Official playlist, and many more.
Fans can also dive into the rich history of Notting Hill Carnival with a curated selection of podcast episodes, or explore shows like A Shot Of Soca, a London-based podcast, and The Yaadman Podcast from Jamaican creators Davaine and Tonniel. The amplification of Caribbean voices continues outside of Spotify, too, with fun conversations like this Unwritten Rules of Carnivalguide, with artists Alicai Harley and Kairo Keyz and creators Indiyah Polack, Ugly Andz, and Faceinthenews.
“Notting Hill Carnival is more than just a celebration; it’s a powerful expression of Caribbean identity and a testament to the global impact of its culture,” said Safiya Lambie-Knight, Spotify’s Head of Music Partnerships, Northern Europe. “We’re excited to bring back Carnival Sounds to celebrate the rich heritage and music of Carnival and to support and elevate Caribbean artists, voices, and communities. It’s great to be able to help people to discover and engage with the culture ahead of Carnival weekend.”
Building on this year’s festivities, Spotify has also teamed up with Trippin World, a platform that empowers people to travel more consciously. Together, we’ll bring Caribbean culture to even more people around the world, celebrating its impact and importance through the eyes of Notting Hill Carnival.
Head to our Carnival Sounds hub to immerse yourself in all things Caribbean.
Frequent flyers already know some of the melodic perks that come with Spotify’s Delta partnership. Travelers have in-flight access to Spotify’s This Is… mixtape series and easy perusing of the Kids & Family hub on Delta’s industry leading seatback entertainment. Now, the Spotify x Delta partnership is expanding with a new social docu-series, The Passport Sessions.
Available for passengers to watch for free in-flight, The Passport Sessions showcase how artists and their music can influence cultures on the other side of the world. In each episode, two songwriters, producers, or artists will travel to a twin city—locations that share similar cultural and historical identities—and will be hosted by two local artists. The episodes will follow the creators on their journeys as they write and record music, and explore the destination’s food, culture, and history.
“Music has a powerful way of uniting people, whether through shared musical tastes, influences, favorite artists, or culture,” shared Enrique Marquez Paris, Songwriter and Publishing Relations Manager at Spotify. “By bringing together emerging artists, songwriters, and producers from different parts of the world, The Passport Sessions give a rare glimpse into the songwriting process, showing firsthand how music and travel can inspire new connections and, ultimately, new art.”
We’re kicking off the series with “From Miami to Medellín,” which features Andy Clay and maye taking off from Florida and touching down in Colombia to meet and collaborate with Juan Duque andAria Vega.
So what was the experience like? Aria, maye, and Andy share details.
How did your culture influence the song that you created during the inaugural Spotify Passport Sessions song camp?
maye: I’d like to think that we each added our own flavor to the song. It was definitely a challenge to make this song and see how all of our influences coexisted.
Aria: The language and expressions used in the song are a real part of how we express ourselves in Colombia. Afrobeats are also really popular on the Caribbean coast, so it was cool to have a little bit of influence from that.
Andy: The song we did was a perfect mix of the different flavors of all the writers and producers involved in the creative process. A little bit of afro, urbano, and pop defines the musical essence of our song.
What did you learn about yourself from this experience? What did you learn from your collaborators?
maye: I learned how to go with the flow and allow the song to unfold. From my collaborators, it was inspiring to see how everyone came up with ideas on the spot.
Aria: I learned to step out of my comfort zone. I usually work with two producers that know me and my taste in music so well that I don’t have to communicate what I like and don’t like. I also rarely work with songwriters. It was nice to meet and communicate with other people and learn from their talent, culture, and artistry. I also learned how they perceive a song from their artistry. That sounds simple, but it’s a whole world of melodies, harmonies, language, expressions, culture—it’s a lot.
Andy: I learned about the incredible music Aria and Juan are doing. I was already aware of the incredible job maye was doing with her project. I really enjoyed having three artists who were so different but at the same time so connected with the same energy, while writing our song.
How does travel impact both production choices and the songs you write?
maye: Traveling is a way to keep me inspired by absorbing whatever culture, sights, and traditions the place has to offer.
Aria: Travel impacts the songs I write because getting to know new places, their traditions, foods, their way of speaking, and overall culture is really inspiring.
Andy: It has a great impact. Being in a different city with different weather, food, and musical influences give you another perspective on what we do!
The next time you’re flying with Delta, check out The Passport Sessions, located in the ‘Series’ section on your seatback entertainment screen. If you’re landlocked, you can still check out some of Andy and maye’s journey below.
At Spotify, we know it’s important to be able to listen to your favorite music and podcasts wherever and whenever. We’re serious about making sure you can do just that as part of our core ubiquity strategy. That’s why we’ve worked to make Spotify available on over 2,000 devicesfrom plenty of brands. We’re always adding new ones, so get to know some of our latest additions.
Sometimes, bigger is better—users who’ve been listening to their favorites from the big screen on the Amazon Fire TV QLED Omni Series know that. With the all-new Ambient Experience, your Fire TV Omni QLED Series TV proactively shows helpful information throughout the day and provides hands-free access to your favorite music and Spotify recommendations. Beyond that, you can flick through albums, songs, and playlists using the remote control, or via Spotify Connect on your phone or tablet. Or you can switch between the two for a totally seamless experience.
DJ from your wrist with the new Spotify experience on Apple Watch
Starting today, we’re rolling out a new and improved listening experience for Spotify users on Apple Watch. This means you’ll be able to more easily browse and choose your favorite music and podcasts in Your Library, as well as more quickly download music to listen offline from the watch itself. There’s also a new sleek design with larger artwork, animations, and added functionality—like swiping to like a song. It’s also super easy to spot new episodes marked with a blue dot, so you’ll never miss fresh episodes from your favorite creators. Make sure to update to the latest version.
Upgrade your travel with our new delta experience
Spotify and Delta are ready to make your next flight soar. We’ve had an existing partnership with Delta, but now we’re taking our relationship to new heights by putting our own spin on the boarding process: We’re curating the music that plays overhead as you find your seat. The playlist will update monthly to include Delta customers’ favorites, so even frequent flyers will experience a fresh music rotation.
Rock your shades with Spotify Tap™ on Ray-Ban Stories
On the go? Then you know the drill: You turn on your phone’s Bluetooth, place it in your pocket, shove the buds in your ear, juggle your coffee to the other hand, and finally, reach back into your pocket to grab your phone again to open up your Spotify app and press play. We knew there had to be an easier way—and there is: Spotify Tap™. For those who are already rocking a pair of Ray-Ban Stories, we recently added Spotify Tap™ for you to easily enjoy your favorite tunes without having to take out your phone. Simply tap and hold on the side of your glasses to play Spotify. And if you want to hear something different, tap and hold again and Spotify will recommend something new. Find even more gear and gadgets that integrate with Spotify.
Starting today, Spotify and Walmart+ are teaming up to offer new and existing members of Walmart+ a Spotify Premium trial for six months. Walmart customers who sign up for a Walmart+ membership can get free shipping, early access to shop special promotions and events, free delivery from the store, and prescriptions and gas for less.
Walmart is one of the world’s biggest retailers, and Spotify is the world’s most popular streaming platform, and this exciting new special promotion for Walmart+ members is the first of its kind. It’s available to both new and existing Walmart+ members who haven’t previously tried Spotify Premium. The offer is redeemable via Spotify and Walmart’s landing page.
After redeeming the offer, Walmart+ members will receive the first six months of Spotify’s Individual Premium offering for free—unlocking ad-free streaming of millions of songs. And while ad-free music streaming is a win in itself, Premium users also enjoy unlimitedskips as well as the ability to play any song (on both mobile and desktop) and download music for offline and on-the-go listening.
“By tapping into Walmart’s impressive scale and reach, we have a unique opportunity to bring the best in audio content to more people across the U.S.,” said Marc Hazan, VP Premium Partnerships and Business Development at Spotify. “We are always looking to collaborate closely with partners who share our passion for helping more listeners connect with their favorite artists. That is why teaming up with Walmart felt like a perfect fit, and we’re thrilled to be able to work together to bring additional entertainment to Walmart+ members.”
Walmart+ and Spotify both want to bring the best to customers, whether that’s in-store or online, to help them save time and money. This partnership creates an opportunity for Walmart+ members to connect with their favorite artists around the globe—and to do so any time, anywhere.
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