Spotify announced two audiobook-related updates on February 5, 2026: a partnership with Bookshop and a new feature called Page Match.
The changes expanded how users discover, purchase, and switch between book formats on Spotify.
Under the partnership, Spotify users in the U.S. and U.K. will be able to purchase physical books through the Spotify app later this spring, with fulfillment handled by Bookshop.
Spotify said purchases would support independent bookstores and authors, linking in-app discovery to physical ownership.
Spotify also introduced Page Match, a feature that synchronizes physical or e-books with audiobooks.
Page Match allowed users to scan a page from a printed book using the Spotify mobile app, which then identified the corresponding location in the audiobook.
Users could scan again to return from audio back to text.
The company said Page Match would roll out to audiobook listeners on iOS and Android for most English-language titles by the end of February. The updates were built on Spotify’s audiobook expansion, which began in 2022.
Why This Matters Today
Audiobooks have grown rapidly, but most readers still consume books across multiple formats.
Print accounted for roughly 73% of trade publishing revenue last year, according to data cited by Spotify, underscoring the gap between audio discovery and physical reading.
Spotify’s Bookshop partnership attempted to close that gap by turning audiobook discovery into physical book sales without redirecting users to major online retailers.
For independent bookstores, the integration offered access to Spotify’s audience at a time when online discovery increasingly shaped purchasing decisions.
Page Match addressed a long-standing friction point in multi-format reading. Switching between print and audio often meant losing one’s place, discouraging combined use.
By automating that transition, Spotify aimed to keep readers engaged with a title across different moments and settings.
The updates also positioned Spotify more directly against companies that control both e-book and audiobook ecosystems.
By supporting print, e-book, and audio together, Spotify signaled an effort to become a broader discovery and engagement layer for publishing rather than a single-format distributor.
Our Key Takeaways:
Spotify expanded its audiobook strategy beyond audio-only consumption. The updates linked discovery to physical sales and reduced friction between reading formats. Independent bookstores gained a new distribution channel inside a major consumer app.
Adoption will depend on how smoothly Page Match performs at scale.
- Spotify partnered with Bookshop to enable physical book purchases inside its app in the U.S. and the U.K.
- The new Page Match feature synced physical books, e-books, and audiobooks via page-scanning.
- The changes aimed to increase cross-format engagement and strengthen Spotify’s role in book discovery.
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