Amazon Music Unlimited Adds Monthly Audiobook Following Spotify Bundling Frenzy — Is Another Royalty Reduction Forthcoming?

Is Amazon Music joining Spotify in reaping massive royalty savings by capitalizing on bundles? Potentially, as the Amazon-owned streaming platform has integrated Audible and added one audiobook per month to its core subscription plans.

Amazon Music detailed the Audible integration and the audiobook perk via a brief announcement today. Now, Unlimited subscribers in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. can enjoy “one audiobook a month” from Audible’s over million-work library at no added cost. (That includes Individual customers and “primary account holders” on Family.)

Especially given Spotify’s audiobook embrace as well as exclusive Apple Music advantages like access to Apple Music Classical, the news is presumably a welcome surprise for Amazon Music subscribers. But when it comes to the music industry (and particularly the publishing side), the seemingly minor move is fueling renewed concerns of yet another bundling bonanza.

That’s because Spotify’s mentioned addition of audiobooks to existing plans, not just a straightforward effort to enhance consumer value, also saw the service reclassify said plans (and their subscriptions) as bundles. DMN Pro has already explored the controversial maneuver’s far-reaching effects, financial and otherwise, at length.

In short, owing to the dramatically different way that bundled and non-bundled revenue is treated under Phonorecords IV in the U.S., Spotify is benefiting from sizable royalty savings after unilaterally opting to deem the vast majority of its paid accounts bundles.

As things stand, a music-only “Basic” option is now available for slightly less than the Spotify tier containing both unlimited music and 15 hours of monthly audiobook listening. However, evidence suggests that few subscribers have downgraded to Basic, which isn’t displayed on Spotify’s main subscription-selection page in the States.

Unsurprisingly, publishers and songwriters aren’t thrilled about missing out on hundreds of millions in payments that they would have otherwise received, and the MLC is challenging Spotify’s bundling pivot in court. The streaming giant, which is leaning into video expansions to boot, remains adamant that the steps and the resulting bundles are entirely lawful under Phono IV.

While that increasingly ugly legal battle unfolds, who’s to say Spotify rivals won’t also get in on the bundling action at the expense of songwriters and publishers?

Based on Phono IV’s language and the inclusion of Apple Music Classical in Apple Music subscriptions, there appears to be nothing stopping the service (at least legally; rightsholder relationships and the specter of Phono V negotiations are a different story) from following in Spotify’s bundling footsteps.

To date, Apple Music hasn’t done so, however, and it’s unclear whether Amazon Music intends to embark on a bundling journey of its own. But with the inclusion of audiobooks in Unlimited – unlike Spotify Premium’s audiobook access, capped, as highlighted, at 15 hours of listening, Unlimited’s access covers one book of any length – all the required pieces look to be in place for Amazon Music.

Per Billboard, National Music Publishers’ Association head David Israelite said he’s “optimistic about” Amazon Music’s fresh bundling initiative and the compensation byproducts thereof – though the parties have yet to hammer out “a final agreement,” according to the report as opposed to Israelite himself.