Spotify has expanded its audiobook service to Nigeria, opening new opportunities for local authors and publishers while giving listeners another way to access books through the streaming platform.
The service, which became available on October 14, allows Spotify Free and Premium users in Nigeria to access audiobooks through a monthly subscription add-on, as the company accelerates plans to expand the offering from 22 markets to more than 180 by the end of 2026.
The global expansion is expected to make audiobooks available to more than 750 million people, who will be able to stream or purchase titles on Spotify.
For Nigerian listeners, the service offers an alternative way to enjoy books during everyday activities, from navigating traffic congestion in Lagos to walking, commuting or relaxing at home.
Under the Nigerian pricing model, users can subscribe to Audiobooks+, a monthly add-on that provides 15 hours of audiobook listening for ₦2,300. Only time spent actively listening counts towards the allowance, which resets at the beginning of each billing cycle.
Listeners who exhaust their allocated hours can purchase an additional 10 hours for ₦2,700 or buy individual audiobook titles to keep.
Owen Smith, Spotify’s Vice President of Audiobooks, said the expansion would help more people rediscover reading while enabling authors and publishers to reach new audiences.
“Books change how we see the world, and the people in it. For a lot of people, audiobooks are how they find their way back to reading, on the commute, on a walk, or at the end of a long day. Bringing audiobooks to more than 180 markets means millions more people can discover that, and authors and publishers can reach readers they’ve never been able to reach before,” Smith said.
The launch also introduces Nigerian listeners to features designed to make audiobook consumption more flexible and convenient.
One of them is Page Match, which enables users to switch between printed books, ebooks and audiobooks without losing their place. By scanning a book’s ISBN barcode, listeners can use page numbers to locate the corresponding passage in the audio version. Spotify said more than one million readers had used the feature, which supports over 30 languages.
The platform has also created a dedicated Audiobooks section within its app, where users can search for titles, browse available books and receive recommendations based on their interests across music, podcasts and audiobooks.
Other features include a Sleep Timer, which stops playback after a set period, and offline downloads that allow users to listen without an internet connection. Listening progress is also synchronised across the more than 2,000 devices on which Spotify is available, enabling users to resume a book on another device.
Beyond expanding access for listeners, Spotify said the launch would provide Nigerian authors and publishers with opportunities to reach audiences beyond the domestic market.
Through Spotify for Authors, local publishers and self-published writers can upload their audiobooks and make them available to listeners in more than 180 markets. The platform also provides insights into listening activity to help creators understand their audiences.
Spotify said its audiobook partnerships were non-exclusive, allowing authors and publishers to distribute their works through other channels. It added that the Nigerian catalogue would continue to grow as additional partners join the platform and local authors upload their titles.
The Nigerian launch builds on Spotify’s broader investment in audiobooks, which were introduced to Premium subscribers three years ago as part of efforts to create a platform serving readers, authors and publishers.
According to the company, monthly audiobook listeners grew by nearly 40 per cent over the past year, while listening hours increased by more than 30 per cent. Audiobooks+, introduced just over a year ago, has also attracted more than one million subscribers.
To access the service, Nigerian users must update their Spotify app, open the Audiobooks section, search for a specific title, and select a book. Eligible users can then add Audiobooks+ or purchase individual titles, with subscription plans managed through spotify.com/account.
Spotify said pricing and access arrangements vary across markets.