Audiobooks are great for when you do not have time to read. Listening to audiobooks on the go is convenient while you’re driving or working out. Spotify is among the few top sources for accessing audiobooks. The app offers audiobooks to premium subscribers.
Spotify Premium plan also offers 150,000 audiobooks for free. However, many users may find the limited hours of streaming and some audiobooks locked to be frustrating. Some factors, such as subscription plan types, impact the availability of audiobooks. We’ll discuss why are audiobooks locked on Spotify Premium and how you can listen to them.
Explanation of Audiobook Licensing Fees
Audiobook availability depends on the production and licensing of the audiobook for sale and download.
Production and Licensing
Since audiobooks take longer to produce than music, they have a high production cost. Audiobook licensing fees also differ from those for ebooks and print versions, so the writer must consider that.
The artist must find the deal valuable to pay for the expenses and earn some royalty over the downloads. Besides, Spotify, as a streaming media, has to get the right remuneration for it, too.
Spotify claims to pay its artists about 25% of the publisher’s earnings under traditional license contracts. Other factors that impact payment include streaming hours and whether a user has listened to at least 20 percent of the book. In some cases, publishers and writers do not favor unlimited accessibility as it may impact their royalties over the years.
Writers Demand
The licensing fee depends on the publishers, the writer’s status, and demand. For instance, different books by the same writer may come at different prices based on demand. Large writers can get a deal on a per-book basis. The writer may also give an exclusive license to just one platform, making the book unavailable on other apps.
On the other hand, the new writers may get a “pooled” income deal where they get paid on how the book performs. Sometimes, Spotify may pay in full if someone listens to the whole book. The app may pay half the amount if the user does not continue reading.
Why Are Some Audiobooks Locked and Others Not?
Certain titles may be available depending on their license and the audiobook subscriber catalog. The books under this catalog depend on the general app settings and available listening time.
Some audiobooks are only available on the Web Player. So, if you try to access the books on your phone, you may see that they are unavailable.
If you have a student’s plan, you won’t be able to access the books. You can choose individual, duo family, and family plans to listen to audiobooks. Besides, if you see some titles you had been listening to disappear, there may be sudden payment and licensing agreement issues.
Why Are Audiobooks Locked on Spotify Premium on Family Plan?
Currently, audiobooks are available for certain premium memberships. If you are on a family plan, you have to be the plan manager to access audiobooks. For those who are on the same plan as another member, they will not get access to the books. You’ll have to become the plan manager to access them. Therefore, the Duo Family plan will give more than one person access.
What if you can’t access premium content despite being a premium member?
Here are some ways to fix issues with the Spotify Premium account not working:
Restart your device
Press the power button to turn off your device. Then, turn it on in a few minutes. This is one simple way for the app to start working again.
Clean Reinstall
You can clean your device by removing the cache and other app files and then installing it again. Note that you’ll have to re-download all the music and podcasts after a clean reinstall. Here is how to do a clean reinstall on different operating systems.
iOS:
1. Go to the Spotify app and open Settings and Privacy.
2. Tap Storage, then Clear cache.
3. Open your device’s Settings and tap General.
4. Tap the phone’s storage, then select the Spotify app.
5. Tap Delete App and confirm.
6. Switch on your device and install Spotify from the App Store.
Mac:
1. Quit the Spotify app.
2. Open Finder.
3. Open the menu.
4. Press on the Alt key ⌥ and go to the Library.
5. Open Caches.
6. Delete the Spotify folder–com.spotify.client and com.spotify.client.helper folders.
7. Open Application Support and delete the Spotify folder.
8. Restart your device.
9. Download and install Spotify.
Android:
1. Open your phone’s Settings.
2. Select Spotify from the list of all apps on your phone.
3. Tap Storage / Storage & cache memory and clear it.
4. Uninstall Spotify.
5. Delete Spotify files from the Android internal storage.
6. Restart your device.
7. Go to Google Play to install Spotify again.
Conclusion
We hope this article helps you with the query why are audiobooks locked on Spotify Premium. Due to different plans, Spotify limits the access to audiobooks. For instance, only the plan manager on the Family Premium account gets 15 hours of audiobooks, while other members cannot access it.
Besides, there are some restrictions surrounding audiobooks due to licensing or sudden payment issues. Only premium plan subscribers can access audiobooks. If your current plan does not support audiobooks, you may upgrade to a different plan.
In some cases, device and app issues may prevent you from accessing the audiobooks. For this, you can do a clean reinstall on the device.
FAQs
Why do I have limited audiobook time on Spotify?
Premium Spotify users can listen to 15 hours of free audiobooks in a month. Depending on the length, audiobooks may range up to 12-15 hours. Therefore, users can listen to at least one book a month.
Are audiobooks cheaper on Spotify?
In comparison to Audible and Amazon, Spotify’s premium plan is cheaper. You’ll pay $11.99/month for Spotify and get 15 hours of Audiobooks. In 15 hours, you can access 1-2 books. On the other hand, Audible charges $14.95/month Audible and allows one book download.
How to buy more audiobook hours on Spotify?
Audiobook top-up hours are available for premium individuals, plan manager families, and duo packs. You may purchase top-ups in increments of ten hours on Spotify. Go to Subscription, and tap on Audiobook listening time. Choose Top Up to add more audiobook listening time when you have already listened to 15 free hours. You may add multiple top-ups in a month.
