Why, the publisher might ask, would a mere author want that kind of valuable info? This is the thin end of the wedge. The slippery slope. What next, letting authors see the actual sales records for their books?

The launch of Spotify for Authors announcement this week has warranted plenty of press inches but not much analysis so far, partly because it’s new and appears gimmicky, but mostly because it’s new and appears gimmicky.

Which it isn’t. New or gimmicky, that is.

This is essentially an extension of an existing tool for creators using Spotify, that is being rolled out to book authors, and that will in time prove a game-changer for the industry, but for now is little more than another Spotify news item, to be reported now then forgotten about until suddenly everyone wakes up to what’s happened and want a piece of the action. A bit like Spotify for Audiobooks itself.

I’ll start here with excerpts from the official press release, than add some commentary as we go.

Spotify:

  • Spotify for Authors is a new platform for authors and publishers to access tools to enhance their presence on Spotify, understand their audience, and, ultimately, drive more consumption.
  • Starting today, publishers and select authors can begin to unlock insights into listener demographics, use tools for marketing and promoting their titles, and customize their author page on Spotify using the following features:

TNPS:

“Publishers and select authors” is the key point for now. Early next year this will roll out for self-publishers using Findaway Voices, but until then this is for mainstream publishers who are to be given the option to “invite” their authors to share in the data and tools. Data and tools like:

Spotify:

  • Redemption Codes: A marketing tool that gives authors and publishers the ability to generate a one-time single-use code to listen to a specific title royalty-free.
  • Insights: Analytics that show audience demographic information including gender, age, and listener’s podcast genre/category.

TNPS:

What’s not to like?

And then Spotify’s own press release pre-empts and answers the next question.

Spotify:

Why it matters:

  • Spotify is setting a new bar for the industry by reimagining the audiobook experience — introducing the format to Spotify’s large and global audience, building richer and more dynamic experiences for listeners, and expanding the creative options for authors and publishers.
  • This is just the beginning for Spotify For Authors, and this is the foundation that will enable us to keep building the future of audiobooks for publishers and authors. We’ve been working closely with authors and publishers on its features, prioritizing what to build based on their feedback and will continue to partner with them as we expand its functionality.

TNPS:

Setting Aside the Self-Promo Guff

After setting aside the press release self-promo guff, there’s still much to commend here. A new bar is indeed being set – and you can bet your last cent that Audible will be offering authors and publishers some token data insights in the not-too-distant future.

Immediate Impact and Negotiations

For now, the impact will be negligible. While this new platform is going to be immediately global, authors published by mainstream publishers will need to negotiate with their publisher – and perhaps their agent, too – to get “invited”.

Publishers and Passport by Findaway

But that means publishers will have to log in to their Passport by Findaway account (Findaway is not the same as Findaway Voices, which is for self-publishers) and then invite authors.

I’m not privy to the mechanics of Passport by Findaway, but would imagine this would either mean a global invite to every author, or a labour-intensive pick-and-choose exercise. Neither of which is likely to appeal to all, or even most publishers.

Redemption Codes and Publisher Insight

How many publishers would feel comfortable allowing authors access to redemption codes? We know from ebooks how few mainstream publishers understand the power of free in terms of promotion and audience-building. In the mainstream industry world of black and white profit and loss accounting, a freebie is a loss, even when there is nothing lost and much to be gained.

Spotify’s Analytics Offerings

And just how much insight does a publisher want its authors to have? Spotify will, initially, offer “analytics that show audience demographic information including gender, age, and listener’s podcast genre/category.”

Why, the publisher might ask, would a mere author want that kind of valuable info? This is the thin end of the wedge. The slippery slope. What next, letting authors see the actual sales records for their books?

There are three possible uses for that level (“audience demographic information including gender, age, and listener’s podcast genre/category”) of insight.

First, the author can use this data to fine-tune future products, to the benefit of all parties. Hey, it could conceivably happen!

Authors Armed with Data

But on the other hand, authors armed with this excessive and carelessly distributed data, that conventional wisdom has only publishers need know about, can then point to where the publisher has missed a trick and is not pitching the book to the best audience sector. Another headache for the busy publisher too involved with its next celebrity title to worry about the industry pond-life that bulks out the catalogue.

Authors Cutting Out the Middleman

And that leads directly to the third and biggest likely concern for publishers and agents alike – at what point will the author, newly armed with previously unavailable data and insights and busily driving new sales for the publisher for the same lousy royalty percentage, simply decide to cut out the middleman, go to Findaway Voices, and self-publish?

The Cat Out of the Bag

The big problem for publishers now is that the cat is out of the bag. Which author would not want this kind of insight into their audiobook audience? And for just how long can mainstream publishers prevaricate and procrastinate before another dam breaks and data sharing with authors becomes the new normal?

Spotify’s Long-term Vision

Right now, the data-share is minimal. But what was it that Spotify said, above? “This is just the beginning for Spotify For Authors.”

Spotify has very quickly made itself part of the audiobook industry’s required furniture. Authors using Audible’s ACX and locked into the platform will be cursing themselves at missing out on all this audiobook action on Spotify. Likewise, mainstream publishers will be cursing themselves for not putting more in sooner, back when Spotify Audiobooks first launched.

The Amazon Parallel

But here we enter into “just-like-Amazon” territory, where the platform becomes so essential to the publisher that there is little wriggle-room when the platform starts flexing its muscles.

Different Business Animals

Of course, Amazon and Spotify are very different business animals.

If we set aside the mostly-nonsense claims that Spotify is fleecing its music creators (Spotify pays out huge amounts to music publishers – whether the publishers pass that on to the creatives is not something Spotify has control over), and allow that Spotify has only been in the publishing industry for five minutes, history paints a picture where Spotify is almost saintly compared to the long list of Amazon’s run-ins with book publishing.

Consumer Win-Win

For the consumer, it’s likely to be a win-win, and healthy competition – finally Amazon is forced to compete rather than call the shots – will likely benefit authors too, in the long run.

Short-term Indignation

But short-term, expect lots of indignation from authors and author-groups as mainstream publishers say they are far too busy to start inviting authors to share anything that might give the author leverage.

Seismic Shift of 2020

Another ripple comes ashore from the seismic shift of 2020.

This post first appeared in the TNPS LinkedIn newsletter.