Audiobook Does Not Play

[grojoh]

Plan

Premium

Country

USA

Device

iPhone Spotify App (newest version), Chrome Web Player Mac OS

My Question or Issue

I am listening to "We Are Legion (We Are Bob): Bobiverse, Book 1" by Dennis Taylor. Narrated by Ray Porter (not the AI version). Now, when I open the audiobook in the Spotify iPhone app, I am getting the following notice:
Finish your listen by Nov 1: This title's not in the subscriber catalog anymore. The good news? You have some extra time to finish listening so you're not left on a cliffhanger. 

But when I try press play (whether it is at the top or at any chapter), the play button turns into the pause icon for one second and then again to the play icon.

Other audiobooks play just fine.

I have only a couple of hours left in the audiobook and it would be great if I could finish listening it before November 1st...

Thank you for any help you can provide.

[Billy-J]

Hey @grojoh, thanks for reaching out to the Community!

Can you try logging out > restart device > logging back in to see if that makes a difference? Keep in mind that the titles available in the audiobooks subscriber catalog may vary from time-to-time at Spotify’s or a third party rightsholder’s discretion. As a result, the titles in the audiobooks subscriber catalog may not be the same as those available to be unlocked on Spotify.

There’s more information about the audiobooks subscriber catalog here.

Let me know if you have any questions!

[grojoh]

Thank you for your reply! I logged out, restarted my phone and logged back in. It didn’t help. Also the same happens on the Spotify web player. My guess is that there is a bug in Spotify… But if there is anything else you want me to try please let me know.

[Billy-J]

Hey @grojoh,

Thanks for the info. Can you send me a screenshot or screen recording of what you’re seeing? Make sure to hide sensitive info when posting to the Community.

To confirm,  it just happens with that one audiobook? I will take a closer look in the meantime. 

[grojoh]

Here is a screen recording:

https://share.icloud.com/photos/099SapzEkDDKOBB-5Itnihojg

Correct, it only happens to this one audiobook. In my screen recording I am also showing you at the end how I can play another audiobook just fine.

Thank you!

[Billy-J]

Hey @grojoh,

Thanks for the info and sorry for the delay in replying. 

It seems that there have been two versions of the same book including the one that you’re referencing. Bobiverse is one you’re mentioning with the AI narration, and the (We are Bob) audiobook is the one that’s fully unavailable the moment. 

I have tried to locate both audiobooks on my end as I am also located in the USA, and couldn’t find the one you’re referencing - but I found an AI version that’s available. Spotify has released an update acknowledging this situation and how they’re taking care of it in this news page. Further, the availability of anything on Spotify is ultimately up to the rights holders, so, if they have decided to remove any content, there isn't much that can be done about this on this end.

Hope this helps. 

[grojoh]

I appreciate your reply and efforts! Yes, the audiobook was removed from Spotify but Spotify tells me that I have until Nov 1 to finish it. See screenshot. Oh well, I guess this is the 2nd audiobook in a row that I have to purchase and finish listening on Audible.

[Billy-J · Accepted solution]

Hey @grojoh,

Yes, it’s not available in your subscriber catalog anymore - however this situation is different because it’s not available entirely on Spotify. That message typically means that the title isn’t available as part of the subscriber catalog but is still available by purchasing it. Though, I thank you for sharing your feedback about this and I will pass it on to the right folks. 

Hope this clears things up and let me know if you have any more questions.