YouTube is moving toward offering audiobooks, with the Wall Street Journal reporting that the platform could launch the feature as soon as next year. The company has spent the past several months in discussions with publishers about the plan. YouTube has not confirmed that an audiobook section is in the works. The Journal also reports that the company has weighed including the feature in its ad-free Premium subscription, which costs $16 a month.
Audiobook content already exists on YouTube in various forms. Some channels host titles in the public domain, while others carry books that are not legally permitted to appear on the platform. Unauthorized recordings made with AI have become a growing problem, according to the report. Listeners who have encountered an audiobook on YouTube read by a robotic voice have most likely come across one of those unauthorized titles.
Because the effort is still at an early stage, several questions remain open. It is not yet known whether the Premium price would cover a full month of listening or whether YouTube would sell individual books. It is also unclear whether the feature will launch at all. YouTube has yet to confirm any of the details reported by the Journal.
If it does arrive, YouTube would enter a market with established competitors. Spotify offers audiobooks through several options. Its Premium plans include 15 audiobook listening hours each month, and an additional $12 a month buys another 15 hours through its Audiobooks+ add-on. Spotify also sells a standalone Audiobooks Access plan for $10 a month that provides 15 hours monthly, and individual books can be purchased through the Spotify Web Player.
Audible offers its own set of plans. A Standard membership at $9 per month provides access to one audiobook a month from its library for as long as the subscription is active. The $15 Premium membership grants one credit each month that can be used to buy a title to keep permanently, along with access to an all-you-can-listen catalog.
For US listeners, the outcome would hinge on how YouTube's library compares with those services and how its pricing stacks up. The Journal's reporting leaves both questions unresolved. YouTube has not said whether it will proceed.
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