Spotify is not only one of go-to-music flow services, but it has been designed for a reliable platform for audiobooks, and it has just launched a new immersive experience aimed at helping fans connect more with the artists and albums they love most.
This new immersive feature called ‘Follow-Along’ is now available for use in the Spotify app and can be found in selected audiobooks in Bloomsbury’s 33 ⅓ series, a collection of short books on popular albums first published in 2003, including books on Oasis’ Absolutely maybe (1994), to Kate Bush’s Hounds of Love (1985).
So how does Spotify merge popular music with audiobooks? When you listen to one of the audiobooks in Bloomsbury’s 33 ⅓ series, you will see additional media such as photos, graphics and songs appear in the now playing section. Imagine you listening to the audiobook that discusses the National’s Boxer (2007), when the narrator goes into detail about a particular song, follow up you show you the track the right thing for you to add it to your library.
In Spotify’s blog post, Music Streamer declared that follow -up ‘marks the beginning of cross -functional collaboration between Spotify’s music and audiobook teams’, with manager of audiobooks licensing Henna Silvennoinen, describing it as ‘A Dream Project’ to the audiobooks.
Out of the 192 books in the 33 ⅓ series, Spotify has published 51 audiobooks on some of the most influential albums and the artists behind them. But only one selected number comes with Spotify’s new follow -up feature, including Kendrick Lamar’s to Pimp A Butterfly (2015) and Pink Floyd’s The piper at the dawn’s gates (1967) – though it was up to me it would be The wall (1979).
I see the vision but it needs to involve more audiobooks
Music and books go hand in hand, and I always encounter videos with book recommendations based on specific artists as well as literature-inspired playlists in the Spotify app. I tested the new follow -up feature and while I see the vision, there is a setback that prevents it from unlocking its full potential.
One of my favorite things about popular music is learning about its contextual framework, and follow -up hits the nail upside down with this, especially with Bloomsbury’s series of books. But wouldn’t it be nice if follow-up on fiction audiobooks was also used?
Think about it; You listen to the audiobook from Daisy Jones and the six By Taylor Jenkins Reid, a story that was set in the course of once for the development of music. Every time the name of a band or artist falls, their Spotify profiles and albums, or even better, give up with you an insight into inspiration behind the characters and the story that sends you in a discography deep dive with Fleetwood Mac or The Doors.
