Do not limit Audiobook listening

[Biff09]

I'm not an expert on the economics of audiobooks, but the reason that Spotify is great is that you get access to all of the music in the catalog and you can enjoy it as much as you like for a flat monthly fee.

Spotify has introduced all sorts of insane new problems by limiting the amount of time listened.  These are just a few examples:

- Do the hours count for multiple people on family/duo accounts?

- How to deal with getting cut off in the middle of a book?

Instead, make Audiobook consumption unlimited JUST like is done for podcasts and music, etc.

If you need to raise the price of the membership then do so.  If you need to make an "audiobook" add-on subscription then do so.

Do NOT limit the number of hours audiobooks or any other kind of media can be consumed.  It's a terrible user experience and is a complete about-face to the model Spotify used to become the dominant music streaming service.

[CSOEL]

I want to add a contrary opinion to those few who are asking for a 1 book per month setup like Audible's. Most of us DON'T want that; we want to pay for unlimited hours. 1 per month could be offered as one of several pricing options, but that'd overcomplicate things and if it were the only option, most of us would be furious. While yes, I work through the occasional tome that's 30-60 hours long, most of the books I listen to are 5-11 hours and I cruise through them at 1.3x speed, aiming to complete several each month. (Side note: it's irritating that a book's recorded hours count against the limit instead of a user's actual listening time for those of us who speed up slower narrators). Limiting us to 1 book per month would be a step backward. Allowing several tiers of audiobook hours per month at different price points would be better. 15 hrs = $, 25 hrs = $$, Unlimited hrs = $$$. Problem solved.

[christopher16]

I never complain about things but last night listening to sniper one on an audiobook. This was cut off as if over listened this month. 
What utter nonsense and a waste of time to offer such a pointless service. Really disappointed and it’s actually laughable that this happened. My complaint makes no difference to you and your now laughable service. I will now look for other ways to finish sniper one. An unbelievably good book….,well the first half was good. I hope they all got out alive. 

[Luan]

Updated on 2025-03-01

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[lenachavezmakeup]

An option to purchase more audiobook listening hours in the app. Best idea is to have an option for a plan that includes unlimited audiobook listening hours.

[Mgoodall1]

What a joke I pay for a service and I’m limited to what I can listen to. Glad YouTube doesn’t do that and I don’t pay for that but get as many adverts as I do here. 

Thats my sleep ruined for the next week then. 

Bad job Spotify. Bad job. 

[ThePeoplesVoice119]

The limiting listening hours is so F'n stupid. Whoever came with that idea should be fired immediately because this makes Spotify look greedy. What's my monthly subscription for if I can't listen to my Audiobook as long as I want? Smh! 

[Lrs237]

I had no idea there was a limit and let me tell you I was livid when I hit the cut off towards the end of a book. There’s no way in **bleep** I’m paying 12 bucks for just a top off. This is really a slimy and disingenuous way for Spotify to try to milk its users for extra cash and I would imagine it is not worth the drop in engagement it causes - there’s so many fairer listening options for audiobooks out there that people would and do turn to instead of the expensive and still quite limited top off that Spotify provides. Ugh

[JerseyNay]

I suppose I’m mostly confused because if I’m paying for Spotify premium and I have access to unlimited music listening time, then why are the audiobooks limited? Makes zero sense since I’m already paying to listen to things unlimited. 

[staceysmom]

Ok, I fell asleep listening to an audiobook.

Yes, I know there's a sleep timer. No, I won't always remember to set it.

So the next day, I want to rewind and listen to what I missed while asleep. But I can't because it's eaten into the 15hr limit.

No, I don't see why I should pay for a £8.99 top up (if that's then solution then why would I bother with 'premium' at all? I'll just pay for Audible, which is both cheaper and not limited by number of listening hours...)

Surely it would be a logical feature and easy from a technical perspective to not have audiobook hours 're-listened-to' count towards the 15hr limit? 

Thanks 😊

[gmayo]

100% Agree on this, and we just hit the same issue. Have been a Premium Family subscriber for many years, and my wife would like to listen to Audiobooks on the platform. The fact that we have to pay more for her, rather than just share or allocate the "plan manager" hours, is totally silly.