Spotify adds Scholastic kids audiobooks to Premium plans
Titles such as The Hunger Games and Captain Underpants can now be streamed within monthly listening allowances in six countries.
Premium subscribers in the U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Ireland can now listen to Scholastic's kids and family audiobooks as part of their monthly allowance, starting Tuesday, Spotify said in a statement.
The catalog includes titles that were previously available only for direct purchase, including The Hunger Games, Wings of Fire and Captain Underpants.
The addition follows a new agreement with Scholastic U.S., which Spotify said is meant to bring the publisher's books to more young readers and their families.
Duncan Bruce, Spotify's director of partnerships and licensing, said families could discover and enjoy the titles within their monthly listening hours.
"Scholastic is synonymous with childhood reading," Bruce said.
Spotify said its audiobook collection has grown from 150,000 titles to 800,000 since Audiobooks in Premium launched three years ago.
Jackie De Leo, Scholastic's chief merchant and publisher, said in an interview with Spotify that audiobooks can help families fit more reading into busy lives.
"Engagement and confidence are huge when it comes to growing a reader," De Leo said.
Spotify highlighted Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins, which was named Audiobook of the Year at the Audie Awards and has a film adaptation due out in November.
Other titles mentioned include Hey, Kiddo, the full-cast Owl Diaries series and Burn the Water by Billy Ray, whose sequel, The Water Will Fall, is due in March.
Audiobooks in Premium is included in Spotify's Premium subscription, which gives listeners a monthly allowance of audiobook hours.