YouTube is exploring an expansion into audiobooks, with the Google-owned platform reportedly in discussions with major book publishers to introduce a licensed offering as early as 2027, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The platform is considering integrating audiobook streaming into its YouTube Premium subscription, priced at $15.99 per month in the US, or offering the service as a separate paid add-on. The move could put YouTube in more direct competition with established audiobook players such as Amazon-owned Audible and Spotify.
For publishers, the proposed partnership could open up new revenue opportunities by making licensed titles available to YouTube’s extensive user base. It could also help address the unauthorised distribution of audiobooks through user-uploaded content on the platform.
While the final structure of the service and revenue-sharing arrangements remain under discussion, one model being considered reportedly involves offering YouTube Premium subscribers a monthly audiobook credit alongside access to a rotating catalogue of titles.
The potential launch would mark another step in Alphabet’s efforts to diversify YouTube’s subscription revenues beyond advertising and strengthen the value proposition of its paid services.
The move also builds on YouTube’s expansion in digital audio through YouTube Music and Premium, which together have crossed 100 million paid subscribers. Adding audiobooks could broaden the platform’s audio offering as competition intensifies among streaming services for listeners and subscription spending.
YouTube has yet to publicly confirm the launch timeline or the final details of its audiobook plans.
