By Mashable | Created at 2026-10-15 16:03:21 | Updated at 2026-10-16 22:52:09
1 day ago
The video platform is reportedly in talks with publishers about launching an audiobook feature as early as 2027.
By
Crystal Bell
Digital Culture Editor
Crystal Bell is the Digital Culture Editor at Mashable, where she leads coverage of the creator economy, internet culture, and digital life. Her work focuses on the people, platforms, and communities shaping modern entertainment, from YouTube creators and livestreamers to fandoms, social media trends, and the evolving relationship between technology and culture. She also oversees the Mashable 101, the publication's annual list recognizing the internet's most influential creators.
on October 15, 2026
YouTube is reportedly getting into the audiobook biz. Credit: Mauricio Santana/Getty Images
YouTube might be coming for your next audiobook listen.
The Google-owned video platform is reportedly looking to expand into audiobooks, potentially putting it in direct competition with Spotify and Amazon Audible. According to the Wall Street Journal, YouTube has been in talks with book publishers in recent months about developing an audiobook feature that could launch as early as 2027.
The company has also reportedly considered bundling audiobooks with YouTube Premium, its ad-free subscription service that currently costs $15.99 per month. However, it's unclear whether subscribers would get unlimited listening, a monthly allotment of hours (like Spotify offers its Premium subscribers), or the option to purchase individual titles. YouTube has not officially announced the feature.
Of course, audiobooks aren't exactly new to YouTube. The platform already hosts countless audiobook recordings, including public-domain classics and uploads from authors and publishers. But it also has a piracy problem. Unauthorized recordings, including AI-narrated versions of copyrighted books, have become increasingly common on the platform. An official audiobook offering could give publishers another way to monetize their titles while potentially addressing some of those concerns.
YouTube would also be entering an increasingly competitive market. Spotify, which expanded into audiobooks in 2023, currently offers eligible Premium subscribers 15 hours of audiobook listening per month, with additional listening time available for purchase.
Mashable Trend Report
Spotify currently offers eligible Premium subscribers 15 hours of audiobook listening per month, with the option to purchase additional listening time. Its U.S. catalog includes more than 700,000 titles. Just last week, Spotify announced plans to expand its audiobook offerings from 22 markets to more than 180 by the end of 2026. According to the company, monthly audiobook listeners have grown nearly 40 percent over the past year. And earlier this year, Spotify took its ambitions in the book market a step further, announcing its plans to sell physical books through its app.
Amazon's Audible, meanwhile, offers subscription plans that give listeners access to audiobooks through monthly selections, credits, and an included catalog. The service also works with Amazon's Kindle e-readers.
There's plenty of money at stake, too. According to the Audio Publishers Association, U.S. audiobook sales reached $2.43 billion in 2025, a nine percent increase from the previous year. And YouTube is already part of that listening ecosystem. In a 2026 survey, 45 percent of audiobook listeners who had listened in the past year reported listening to a free audiobook on YouTube during that period, raising concerns about piracy on the platform.
For YouTube, the appeal is fairly obvious. The platform has already become a destination for music, podcasts, and long-form video. Adding audiobooks would give users another reason to spend time on the platform, and potentially make a YouTube Premium subscription more appealing.
Whether YouTube can compete with established audiobook services will ultimately depend on its catalog, pricing, and listening experience. But its biggest advantage might be the millions of people who already use YouTube to listen to just about everything else.
Crystal Bell is the Digital Culture Editor at Mashable, where she leads coverage of the creator economy, internet culture, and digital life. Her work focuses on the people, platforms, and communities shaping modern entertainment, from YouTube creators and livestreamers to fandoms, social media trends, and the evolving relationship between technology and culture. She also oversees the Mashable 101, the publication's annual list recognizing the internet's most influential creators.
Previously, she was the entertainment director at MTV News, where she helped expand the brand's coverage of fan culture, K-pop, and the internet's most passionate communities. Her work has appeared in Teen Vogue, Rolling Stone, PAPER, NYLON, ELLE, Glamour, NME, W, The FADER, and elsewhere on the internet.
She's exceptionally fluent in fandom and will gladly make you a K-pop playlist and/or provide anime recommendations upon request. Crystal lives in New York City with her two black cats, Howl and Sophie.
