Amazon-owned Audible has begun its preview of Audible Plus, a new, cheaper subscription plan that showcases the company’s exclusive content including Audible Originals, podcasts, and audiobooks. For $7.95 per month, Audible Plus listeners will have unlimited access to a catalog of more than 11,000 titles and 68,000 hours of content developed largely by Audible; subscribers, however, will not have access to Audible's wider catalog of audiobook titles from other publishers and will not receive a credit to download one title monthly.
Those offerings are now being made available via a restructuring to its traditional credit-based subscription which is now being called Audible Premium Plus. For $14.95 per month, Audible Premium Plus members have access to the Audible Plus catalog in addition to receiving one credit per month which can be redeemed for any title in Audible’s entire library of more than 500,000 titles. (Premium Plus members can also purchase additional credits if they wish.) The Audible Plus catalog is available to Audible Premium Plus members now, and new customers interested in trying the standalone Audible Plus service can sign up beginning August 27.
According to Rachel Ghiazza, Audible executive v-p and head of U.S. content, the addition of the new service is meant to appeal to existing customers while attracting new subscribers. "Audible Plus provides something that’s unique and additive for existing members—it’s the perfect opportunity for them to explore a curated section of content,” she says. “And for new members it’s an exciting, accessible entry point to discover all different types of audio listening.”
This unlimited subscription model lands Audible in more direct competition with other audio services like Spotify and podcast subscription app Luminary, but Ghiazza believes that Audible Plus stands apart. “It’s the first of its kind all-you-can-listen catalog that provides a curated list of our Originals, podcasts, and audiobooks all in one service,” she says. And, in a statement, Audible CEO Bob Carrigan sounded a similar note. “As we accelerate our expansion in the premium audio storytelling and entertainment space, we believe this collection of extraordinary voices will inspire millions of customers,” he said.
The company has been growing its exclusive and Originals offerings in recent years to span a range of categories, including comedy, children’s, documentary, self-development, and Audible Theater productions from a solid roster of notable authors and artists, and celebrity performers. Among the titles added to the Audible Plus lineup this month are: Letters from Camp, a family scripted show starring Jamie Lee Curtis, Sunny Sandler, and Jake Gyllenhaal; Stories of a Lifetime, legendary journalist Dan Rather’s show about pivotal moments in his life and career, recorded live for Audible Theater; and Bluebird Memories: A Journey through Lyrics & Life by Common. Plans are to significantly expand Audible Plus content and provide technical enhancements to the service building to an official launch in the coming months.
