Spotify is narrating magazine articles now

Imagine trading in your morning commute reading material for a podcast-like experience. Spotify is betting you will, as it introduces a new feature: narrated magazine articles. The streaming giant is expanding its audio offerings beyond music, podcasts, and audiobooks to include long-form written content, read aloud.

The move marks a significant shift for Spotify, which has primarily been associated with music streaming. Starting today, users in regions where Spotify's audiobooks are available can access over 650 articles from prominent publications such as Rolling Stone, The Atlantic, Vogue, Variety, Billboard, Vibe, GQ, Wired, Vanity Fair, and Pitchfork. These articles, all under two hours long, will be narrated and made available in English.

A key aspect of this rollout is that narrated articles will fall under the monthly audiobook allowance for Premium users, making it an attractive perk for subscribers. For free users, however, access to these articles will be limited. Spotify has not detailed the specifics of what this means for users who don't pay for a subscription, only indicating that there will be restrictions.

The inclusion of articles from such a wide array of publications suggests Spotify is serious about becoming a major player in the audio content space. By incorporating written content in a spoken format, Spotify is not only diversifying its offerings but also catering to the evolving preferences of its users. Whether or not listeners will embrace this new format remains to be seen, but Spotify's aggressive expansion into new areas indicates a confidence in its vision for the future of audio.

As Spotify continues to blur the lines between music, media, and spoken word, users can expect even more innovative features in the future. For now, the ability to listen to magazine articles on Spotify presents a new way to consume content, one that could potentially redefine the way we engage with written media.