YouTube could expand beyond video and music to become a destination for audiobooks. The company is reportedly in talks with book publishers about licensing titles for a dedicated audiobook offering, which could be added to its YouTube Premium subscription as early as 2027, according to The Wall Street Journal. The move would put YouTube in more direct competition with Spotify and Amazon-owned Audible.
A dedicated audiobook catalog
Audiobooks are not entirely new to YouTube. Recordings of books are already available on the platform, but they are typically uploaded as standard videos. A dedicated audiobook section could organize this content into a searchable catalog, making it easier for users to find and listen to specific titles, much as they browse music on streaming services.
Read also: AI-narrated audiobooks: Can a machine ever truly tell a story?
Subscription and pricing remain unclear
YouTube is considering integrating audiobooks into YouTube Premium, but key details have yet to emerge. It is unclear whether subscribers would get access to a catalog as part of their existing plan, whether individual titles would be available for purchase, or whether the service would affect subscription pricing. The company has also not disclosed how the catalog might be organized or whether the offering would include AI-narrated books.
Competing in a growing market
For YouTube, audiobooks could add value to its paid subscription and open up another segment of the digital entertainment market. Spotify already offers audiobooks through eligible Premium plans in selected markets, while Audible specializes in the format. A dedicated catalog could also give publishers another way to reach audiences on a platform many people already use regularly.
For listeners, the potential appeal is convenience: they could discover and listen to audiobooks without having to switch to a separate service.