If you’ve ever finished an audiobook and wish you owned the book, Spotify offers an easy solution. The company now lets you buy physical books directly from the app in the US and UK
How do I buy physical books on the Spotify app?
Spotify has partnered with Bookshop to sell paper books. When you browse an audiobook on Spotify, you’ll now see the option to purchase a copy. Once you tap it, Spotify will redirect you to Bookshop’s website to complete the purchase.
This means Spotify does not process payments itself. Instead, it acts as a discovery layer that connects you to independent bookstores through the Bookshop network.
The feature is currently limited to users in the US and UK. Currently, it works alongside audiobook lists so you can easily switch from listening to owning a physical copy.
What else is new about Spotify audiobooks?
Spotify is expanding its audiobook experience in other ways, too. The company has introduced audiobook charts that highlight top titles across all genres. This gives you a better sense of what’s trending, similar to how music charts work on the platform.
The company is also introducing the Audiobook Recap feature, which gives you short audio summaries based on where you last stopped listening. These are designed to refresh your memory of the story so far and make it easier to get back in without feeling lost.
Last February, Spotify introduced the Page Match feature, which allows you to scan a page from a physical book and continue from the same point in the audiobook. It now supports more than 30 additional languages, including French, German and Swedish.
Why this is important
Spotify is slowly becoming a one-stop shop for stories. You can discover a title, listen to it, switch between formats and even purchase the physical book without having to start again elsewhere. It still feels unexpected for a platform known for music, but once you start using these features you’ll appreciate their usefulness.
