Audiobook First Time User: Poor User Experience

[foxof]

I used Spotify's audiobook feature for the first time and had a pretty poor user experience. Basically, I was at the last 45 minutes of my book and was informed I ran out of credit and could not finish the book for 10 days unless I pay $12.99 to 'top off' my hours and be granted 10 additional audiobook hours. I've summarized some of the key issues with this experience.

• Lack of Transparency Regarding Time Limits:

  • I was unaware of a monthly listening limit until reaching the last 45 minutes of a book, causing me to run out of credit prior to finishing the last few chapters
  • Clearer communication of the time limit and a visible usage tracker are crucial.
  • Consider displaying the remaining listening time within the audiobook player itself. (under the time remaining for the book itself, add a time remaining for monthly allowance or something better)

• Disproportionate "Top-Off" Pricing:

  • The $12.99 price for an additional 10 hours of listening time is excessive, especially when only needing to finish a single book.
  • Offering more granular "top-off" options, such as a smaller amount of time at a lower cost (e.g., 3 hours for ~$4.99), would be more customer-friendly.
  • Consider a "Finish Book" option at a reduced price to avoid interrupting the listening experience.

• Time-Based Model Limitations:

  • The current time-based model can be frustrating and unpredictable, especially without a tracking system built into the app
  • Consider models like a credit system (similar to Audible) or a book-based limit to provide more predictability and ensure users can complete their audiobooks.

I really hope this experience improves because of love the idea of having all my audio media in one app!

[Kiril]

Hi @foxof,

Thanks for posting to the Community and for your valuable feedback on your experience with Audiobooks! 

However, we moved your post from the Ideas board as it wasn't meeting one of our Idea Exchange guidelines, namely point 3: “One change request per Idea." 

Please be aware that when an idea post includes several feature requests, it becomes hard to keep track of and update them, so it's being closed. I can see you're giving very constructive and valid propositions in each point, but I suggest you to divide them and make a new idea submission for each one of them. This way we’ll know exactly which idea folks are voting for. Also make sure to scout our Ideas board for existing similar Ideas and give your vote and support to them before creating a duplicate one. 

Hope this clears things up. If you have any questions or need anything else, the Community is here for you.

[Jenn7-13]

I have also had this problem! I am just about done with a 13 hour book and some how I am out of my allotted 15 hours of listening time. I have not rewound or anything thing. Makes you wonder how they actually track this. Now I have to wait until next month to finish this book, which is rather annoying. 

[Amberkiss0310]

I used my 15 hours, purchased a 10 hour top up with 9 hours left of my book. I listen to them at 1.6 times speed but somehow I ran out with 27 minutes left. The math doesn't math. I asked for a refund for my top off and they refused. I cancelled my service. I can you amazon music and get one free book per month, don't have to worry about time limits. I have been a spotify paid member for years.