YouTube’s audiobook push follows its playbook of absorbing entertainment categories

Simon Owens reports that YouTube is developing an audiobook feature likely bound for Premium, mirroring Spotify’s successful audiobook push that has already eaten into Audible’s market share.

Why it matters. Audiobook publishers and authors gain a new ad-supported distribution channel that competes directly with Audible’s subscription model.

Signal from Simon Owens's Media Newsletter · Simon Owens · read the original.

All gas. No brake. Free.

What’s happening, why it matters, who reported it, who followed, and how the story develops. Free with a reader account. Unsubscribe any time.

Continue free →

More from Creators

All →

A consultant built a free tracker for local TV stations’ YouTube performance

TVREV reports that consultant Mike VanZetta built PiZetta News Tracker, a tool using the YouTube API to track local TV stations’ views, subscribers and output, after being inspired by Facebook’s old CrowdTangle tool and built with vibe coding.

TVREV: brands should build owned media, not just rent reach

TVREV’s Emanuele Landi argues brands must build their own owned media formats and IP rather than only renting attention across fragmented platforms, citing Duolingo, the Sidemen and WeRoad as cases of brands turning audiences into owned businesses.

Evan Shapiro’s report maps sports fandom’s shift to social and creators

Media War & Peace’s Evan Shapiro reports that leagues and platforms will generate more than $115 billion this year even as sports rights fragment across paywalls, pushing fans toward creators, clips and highlights on social platforms.