Spotify has announced that it has remunerated audiobook publishers with “tens of millions” since introducing 15 hours of audiobook listening to its Premium subscription package last fall. The company emphasized that this amount represents “100% royalties” and anticipates a continued growth in royalty payouts. While Spotify did not disclose a specific payout figure, it clarified that the mentioned “tens of millions” apply in both pounds and dollars.

Despite this, the Society of Authors (SoA) expressed concerns about the lack of transparency regarding the deals. The SoA is keen on observing the impact on author incomes, questioning whether these are genuine additional sales or if they merely shift market share from Amazon.

In a leaked recording of an internal Audible meeting, an employee questioned CEO Bob Carrigan about the company’s fear of competition, to which Carrigan acknowledged the impact of Spotify’s actions. This revelation followed Audible’s announcement of laying off 5% of its workforce, while Spotify also revealed plans for layoffs affecting 17% of its employees in December.

Spotify explained that audiobook rights holders receive compensation based on the titles listened to and the duration of listening. The company refrained from providing additional details on its compensation model but asserted that its payout structure is competitive within the audiobook market. Spotify reported “exponential sales growth” in audiobooks, citing significant increases, such as Brianna Wiest’s The Mountain Is You experiencing a nearly 3,000% sales boost after joining the Premium catalog. However, the SoA remains skeptical, emphasizing that the Premium catalog is free for Spotify Premium account holders.

The SoA called on authors to inquire about their publishers and advocated for the separate notation of Spotify revenues on royalty statements. This suggestion aims to enable authors to assess the impact and ensure that Spotify downloads are accurately accounted for as licenses rather than sales.