Audible and Spotify might want to look over their shoulders. A new report suggests YouTube is eyeing the audiobook business. That’s a big deal.
According to The Wall Street Journal, YouTube could roll out audiobooks as early as 2027. The report also mentions how the platform has been talking with publishers for months. YouTube, however, hasn’t confirmed it.
What has YouTube reportedly planned?
YouTube has considered bundling audiobooks into YouTube Premium, the ad-free plan. For those catching up, it costs $15.99 a month in the US.
What’s unclear, however, is whether that price would cover a month of listening (as it does for YouTube Music) or whether audiobooks would be sold individually. The timing makes sense to me, though.
YouTube already has plenty of audiobook videos, including the unauthorized ones and AI-narrated recordings. In my opinion, licensed books would give YouTube a cleaner alternative to that mess. With no confirmation, treat this as a rumor for now.
How would YouTube stack up against Spotify and Audible?
Whether YouTube steps into the audiobook space this year or next year (the reported timeline), the competition is and will remain crowded. Spotify Premium includes 15 audiobook hours a month, and its $12 Audiobooks+ add-on adds 15 more. A standalone Spotify audiobooks plan costs $10 a month for 15 hours of listening time.
Audible’s $9 Standard plan includes a single title each month. However, the hour is only available while you stay subscribed. On the other hand, its $15 Premium plan gives you one monthly credit to keep a book permanently, plus access to a listen-all catalog.
In my experience, library size beats price when people choose an audiobook service. Hence, it will all come down to YouTube’s publisher deals. For now, don’t change any subscriptions.
Also, keep in mind that licensing talks often stall. Spotify pays publishers by how much listeners consume, so I’d expect YouTube to do something similar. I’d also watch how it handles unauthorized, AI-narrated uploads, and whether YouTube Premium prices climb further after the April increase.
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