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Spotify to sell physical books via Bookshop.org partnership

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Spotify said on Thursday it will begin selling physical books directly through its app under a new partnership with Bookshop.org, marking an unexpected move beyond its core music and audiobook offerings. The expansion comes as Spotify looks to differentiate its platform and compete more aggressively with rivals such as Apple and Amazon.

The physical book purchasing feature will roll out later this spring for users in the United States and the United Kingdom. Bookshop.org will manage pricing, inventory and fulfillment, while Spotify will integrate discovery and purchasing into its app experience.

Spotify has been steadily building out its audiobook business since launching Audiobooks in Premium two years ago. The service is now available in 22 markets, with an English-language catalogue exceeding 500,000 titles. The company said new audiobook listeners are up 36%, while listening hours have increased 37%, highlighting growing engagement despite intense competition in audio content.

The move into physical books comes at a challenging time for traditional publishing. Sales of printed books have slowed as readers increasingly shift to digital formats. Last year, News Corp, owner of publisher HarperCollins, warned that book orders were weakening, while long-standing distributor Baker & Taylor shut down operations earlier this year.

Alongside book sales, Spotify is introducing a new feature called “Page Match,” designed to bridge reading and listening. The tool allows users to scan a page from a physical book or e-book with their phone camera and jump to the corresponding point in the audiobook, then scan again later to resume reading from the exact spot. Page Match will launch with most English-language titles and is expected to be fully available to all audiobook users by late February.

Spotify has also raised the price of its monthly premium subscription by $1 to $12.99 in select markets, including the United States, Estonia and Latvia, as it continues to invest in new features and content formats.

Survey Finds 97% of Listeners Can’t Tell AI Music From Human Songs

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Nearly all listeners can no longer tell when a song has been composed by a machine.
A new Deezer–Ipsos survey revealed that 97% of respondents were unable to distinguish between AI-generated and human-made music, exposing the profound transformation — and disruption — that artificial intelligence is bringing to the global music industry.

The study, which polled 9,000 participants across eight countries, including the U.S., the U.K., and France, underscores how AI tools are reshaping creativity, raising copyright and ethical concerns, and threatening the income of traditional artists.

Despite their inability to detect the difference, most listeners want transparency. About 73% supported clear labelling for AI-generated tracks, 45% wanted filters to exclude them, and 40% said they would skip such songs entirely.

Deezer, which now receives over 50,000 AI-generated song uploads per day—a third of its total submissions—has introduced tagging systems and excluded synthetic tracks from editorial playlists and algorithmic recommendations.
“We believe creativity is a human value, and artists deserve protection,” said Deezer CEO Alexis Lanternier, calling for stronger transparency measures.

The company has also begun removing fake streams from royalty calculations and is exploring how to adjust payment structures for AI-generated music, though Lanternier admitted such changes would be complex.

The debate intensified earlier this year when AI band The Velvet Sundown gained over a million monthly Spotify listeners before being revealed as fully artificial. Meanwhile, Universal Music Group recently settled a copyright case with AI startup Udio and plans to launch a licensed AI-music tool in 2026.

Adding to the controversy, a Munich court ruled this week that OpenAI’s ChatGPT violated German copyright laws by reproducing song lyrics without permission.

How to Use Spotify, YouTube Music, and Apple Music to Discover New Music

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Just a decade ago, discovering new music meant waiting for a friend’s recommendation, listening to the radio, or following TV and magazine charts. Today, that task is handled by streaming platforms’ algorithms, which analyze your listening habits to predict your tastes and recommend songs you’re likely to love. Spotify, YouTube Music, Apple Music, and TIDAL all have specific features designed to help users find new sounds effortlessly.

Spotify, with nearly 700 million monthly users, offers personalized tools such as Discover Weekly—a playlist of 30 new tracks updated every Monday—and Release Radar, which features fresh releases from artists you follow, updated every Friday. The Daily Mix playlists blend familiar songs with new discoveries grouped by genre or mood. Its newest feature, AI DJ, uses artificial intelligence to act as a personal music guide that mixes old favorites with new tunes and adds voice commentary between tracks.

TIDAL, a favorite among audiophiles, offers My Mix, My Daily Discovery, and My New Arrivals—playlists that combine your favorite artists with new ones, all in high-fidelity sound. The platform also features TIDAL Rising, which promotes emerging musicians worldwide, and an Autoplay function that keeps the music going with similar songs once your playlist or album ends.

YouTube Music stands out for its integration with YouTube, mixing official tracks with live performances, remixes, and covers. You can launch a radio station based on any artist or song, customize how much variety you want, and even switch to Discovery Mode to prioritize tracks you haven’t heard before. Its new Daily Discovery feature refreshes recommendations every day, while upcoming AI tools promise even more tailored experiences.

Meanwhile, Apple Music helps listeners discover fresh music through its Explore tab, which offers curated playlists by genre, mood, and global trends. Its Discovery Station, found under “Stations for You,” plays songs not in your library but similar to your taste, while Your Station mixes familiar favorites with new suggestions.

No matter which platform you use, the best way to improve recommendations is to like songs you enjoy, follow artists, and listen regularly—helping algorithms fine-tune your musical journey.