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.

[caleberb12]

If this were an option then I'd 100% drop Audible. But Spotify cannot compete with them on this. It's like a child competing in the Olympics. Do it right and I'll be impressed. As is, move aside and let the grown ups play. 

[Diamondkittycat]

I agree with the points said ether remove the limit fully or have a version where you pay for a few dollars more for unlimited listen time 

[swatman008]

Yeah I'm quite frustrated. I had no idea there was a limit on how much I can listen. 15 hours is not enough I finished that very quickly. I still have 21 days on this billing cycle. Spotify needs a unlimited everything. I will gladly pay a extra 10 dollars for the unlimited.

[ChristianEllsworth]

This limit was a surprise to me. It is so frustrating I am tempted to just cancel my subscription at this point.

[cherries4thecrows]

I definitely agree with this. I love audiobooks and have incorporated them into my daily routine over the last year using an app through my local library. However, they don’t have copies of everything I want to listen to. When I saw Spotify added an audiobook feature, I was really excited! But the 15 hour limit per month is VERY limiting with the rate at which I’m reading. The 10 hour ‘top-ups’ aren’t worth spending more than I am monthly for the full service when I know I’ll probably need to purchase multiple, and I don’t want to add another service like Audible when I could easily use the same app I have now. I would gladly pay a few extra dollars a month to have unlimited access to audiobooks and keep everything I need/want within one or two apps. 

[jlelvir36]

I rather be able to hear a limited amount of audiobooks (e.g. amazon with their kindle membership unlocking a book or two per month) than being cut off in the middle to pay extra. The user experience just sucks for it, I might try out amazon and see where that takes me.

[Pr0cy0n]

Considering I pay a premium, if you're going to roll out a new feature, it should work the same way as the rest of your platform. I'm not being charged for my music usage by the hour, why should audiobooks be any different? 15 hours isn't enough to read full length novels. Now either pay an exorbitant fee for more time or wait a month? When did this become a micro transaction game?

[Jaemegan]

I appreciate spotify for opening up to audiobooks but agree that it should be way more than 15 hours or at least another subscription that offers unlimited audiobooks

[d3fected]

Absolutely echoing the concerns raised here about the 15-hour audiobook listening cap for premium members. It's a bit perplexing to see such a restriction in place, especially when we consider the broader digital content landscape where, frankly, alternatives (including piracy) don't impose such limits.

Limiting us to roughly 30 minutes of audiobook listening per day doesn't just seem restrictive; it feels out of touch with how audiobook enthusiasts consume content. Most of us are accustomed to longer listening sessions, diving deep into stories during commutes, workouts, or even as a way to unwind.

Moreover, this move strikes me as an odd choice from a marketing standpoint. We're already navigating through ads in podcasts and dealing with an ever-changing music library—tracks and albums sometimes vanish without warning due to licensing issues, leaving us hanging.

This approach, to me, feels akin to the early days of cable subscriptions, where choices were limited and consumer freedom was curtailed in favor of pushing additional services. I believe Spotify has the potential to innovate without resorting to restrictive measures that could alienate its dedicated user base.

Wouldn't it be more in Spotify's spirit to find a middle ground? Perhaps a model that offers more flexibility or rewards loyal premium members with additional listening hours could foster a more positive community response and keep us engaged with the platform in a way that feels rewarding rather than limiting.

Looking forward to seeing how this evolves and hoping for a solution that aligns more closely with our listening habits and the value we find in our premium subscriptions. Or will I receive the standard copy and paste reply from the community team who have absolutely no influence over the product teams decisions (who seem to be tone deaf anyway). 

[befan526]

Agreed. Make it another tier to have unlimited everything for a few dollars more and if ppl don’t want to pay that then they have the other option. I listen a lot at work and I’ve been through my hours and a top off already and still have 6 days until they reset 🙄. Dumbest thing ever! Everything else is unlimited…