It is possible that Spotify’s current push for audiobooks inspired the AUD 8.99 plan.
In Australia, Audible is doing experimentation with a more affordable subscription tier that appears to be a response to Spotify’s drive for audiobooks. You will receive one free title each month with the new Standard membership, just like you would with the more expensive plan. However, if you cancel the subscription, you will no longer have access to the books that you have claimed under the plan, just like with gaming services such as PlayStation Plus.
The Audible Standard plan costs AUD 8.99 (US$5.90) a month, which is a big reduction from the AUD 16.45 monthly cost of the Premium Plus plan in Australia ($14.97 in the US). This information was reported by Bloomberg. Despite the fact that the price has decreased, Audible Standard users in Australia are still able to claim one audiobook every month to add to their collection. This audiobook can be downloaded and listened to either online or offline.
But there is a catch: in contrast to Audible Premium Plus, Standard members’ free audiobook credits do not carry over to the following month if they are not used during that particular month. If you fail to claim a book in the month of May, you will still only have one credit available for usage in the month of June. Additionally, after you terminate your subscription to the Standard plan, the audiobooks that you selected will have a lock icon labeled next to them. After you have cancelled your subscription, you will be required to either resubscribe or purchase them at the full price.
One further distinction between the programs is that users of Audible Standard will not have access to all of the podcasts completely. According to a frequently asked questions (FAQ) by Audible regarding the plan, “Audible Standard members can listen to many podcasts for free.” On the other hand, Audible Standard membership does not grant access to all of the Audible Original podcast programming.
The previous year, Spotify introduced an audiobook feature that posed a challenge to the existing model utilized by Audible. Those who subscribe to Spotify Premium in the United States have the ability to stream 15 hours of books each month through their ad-free music plan. For an additional $10 a month, the service also provides a tier that is limited to audiobooks and has the same 15-hour limit. If the given time is not sufficient, users of Spotify have the option to purchase a 10-hour top-up. The duration of a single audiobook is typically between seven and eleven hours.