Spotify expands Audiobooks and Partner Program to the Nordics
NEWSLETTER
19 November 2025
Welcome back to another edition of Mediavision’s newsletter. Here are the main topics in this week’s newsletter:
- Spotify expands Audiobooks & Partner Program to the Nordics
- New record high for the Swedish audio market
- Disney’s Q3 earnings
AUDIO
Spotify expands Audiobooks & Partner Program to the Nordics
Mediavision’s Principal Analyst Fredrik Liljeqvist commented on the news in Dagens Industri:
Mediavision follows the development and the implications of the launch closely in its analyses of the Nordic media market.
Spotify Premium subscribers in the newly added markets will receive 12 hours of audiobook listening per month, which is slightly lower than in the US and other English-speaking markets where 15 hours are included. Monthly listening hours cannot be saved and reset each month.
All Spotify subscribers can also choose to sign up for what the company calls “Audiobooks+,” an additional service costing 99 SEK per month, which provides 20 extra hours of audiobook listening. Free users can also access Spotify’s audiobooks, but they pay a per-title price to unlock specific books. This option is not available to the company’s paying subscribers.
At launch, more than 300,000 titles are available. For comparison, the market-leading audiobook service in the Nordics, Storytel, states that it offers around one million titles in Sweden.
This was not the only launch from Spotify in the Nordics yesterday. The company also launched its so-called Partner Program in Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and Iceland. The Parter Program offers creators new ways to monetize on video podcasts on the platform.
First launched in the US, UK, Canada, and Australia, and recently expanded across Europe, the program provides creators with multiple revenue streams, from both paying subscribers and ad-funded listeners. In addition, podcasters keep all the revenue from their own sponsorships.
Mediavision has noted a sharp increase in video podcasts during recent years. Of the roughly two million people who consume podcasts on an average day in Sweden, close to half consumes it in video form. This is presented in Mediavision’s latest analysis of the Swedish audio market.
AUDIO
New record high for the Swedish audio market
Swedish households are spending more money on audio than ever before. According to Mediavision’s latest quarterly analysis, the market for paid music, audiobook, and podcast services has now reached a new record level – both in the number of subscriptions and in total household spending.
In Q3 2025, Swedish households together held approximately 5.3 million music, audiobook, and podcast subscriptions — the highest level recorded in Mediavision’s analyses. This corresponds to an increase of about 250,000 subscriptions in a year, mainly driven by music and podcast services.
Read up on the full press release here, with commentary from Mediavision’s Principal Analyst Fredrik Liljeqvist.
EARNINGS
Disney’s Q3 earnings
Disney is the last media company to report their Q3 earnings. Here are a few highlights from the report:
- – Disney’s revenue for the quarter was nearly USD 22.5 billion, slightly below the same quarter last year.
- – Net income for the quarter was USD 1.44 billion, or USD 0.73 per share, more than double the USD 564 million, or USD 0.25 per share, reported in the same period a year earlier.
- – Disney+ added 3.8 million subscribers during the period, bringing its total to 131.6 million.
- – Disney’s stock closed down more than 7% last Thursday following the report, as revenue came in below expectations.
Mediavision in the News
Spotifys nya drag: ”Tror på något annat” – SvD
Nya poddtrenden: Går över till video – ”Roligare” – Expressen
Spotify lanserar ljudböcker i Sverige – Dagens Industri
Traditional TV viewing in Sweden falls to less than a third of overall watch time – C21 Media
Social video takes 20% share as traditional TV hits record low in Sweden – Broadband TV News
Svenskarna tittar allt mindre på traditionell tv – Omni
Miljardförluster för tv-branschen när pirattittandet ökar – Dagens Media
Norske ungdommer bruker mest tid på SoMe i Norden – KOM24
Sweden: SVoD subs at record levels – Advanced Television
Svenskar strömmar mest reklamvideo i Norden – Dagens Nyheter
Report: Ad-funded content now half of Swedes’ online viewing – Advanced Television