Spotify's Audiobook Success and AI's Impact on Publishing: HarperCollins CEO

HarperCollins CEO Brian Murray, speaking at the UBS Global Media and Communications Conference, highlighted the growth of audiobooks and the evolving role of artificial intelligence in the publishing industry, as reported by TechCrunch.

Murray emphasized the continued strong performance of audiobooks, noting that they currently surpass ebooks in overall revenue and are helping offset declines in ebook sales. Regarding AI, while he declined to discuss specifics of licensing deals due to non-disclosure agreements, he described the current landscape as a "fascinating time."

Murray specifically praised Spotify's strategic entry into the audiobook market, referencing the 15 hours of free listening included with Spotify Premium subscriptions in select markets.

"Spotify entered the market in a very smart way," Murray explained. "They had several 100 million listeners of music and podcasts … so it was a very small, adjacent shift for them to monetize the audiobook listener." He contrasted this with Audible's model, suggesting Spotify's approach targets casual audiobook listeners.

HarperCollins' audiobook distribution deal with Spotify operates on a consumption-based model, where publishers are paid per listen, offering greater transparency in royalty payments to authors compared to the revenue-sharing model of music streaming. Murray noted that Spotify is working to expand audiobook access to all members of family plans, a feature currently limited to the primary account holder.

Spotify confirmed that while there are no technical issues preventing this expansion, they are currently testing this feature in select markets. "Echoing Brian Murray’s comments, we have been pleased with the growing interest in audiobooks and the resulting benefit to the publishing industry and authors," a Spotify spokesperson told TechCrunch.

Turning to AI's impact, Murray acknowledged both the potential benefits and risks. He expressed concern about generative AI potentially leading to a surge in lower-quality content, but expressed confidence that higher-quality content would ultimately prevail. He also noted that HarperCollins is exploring AI's applications within the company for tasks such as marketing and sales, with dozens of internal initiatives underway to leverage AI for productivity improvements.

Murray also discussed the potential for AI to revolutionize audiobook production, enabling cost-effective creation for smaller markets and expanding book translations. He further envisioned AI's role in streamlining the adaptation of books into films. "You can imagine taking a manuscript, pouring it in, and having a movie script or television script come out, and then using [OpenAI’s] Sora to storyboard," Murray stated.