# Spotify's AI-Driven Engagement and Audiobook Expansion Strategy

**Podcast:** TechCrunch Daily Crunch
**Published:** 2026-05-22

## Transcript

This is TechCrunch.
We got quite a few updates from Spotify on Thursday, so let's have a Spotify special.
I'm Imran Jake and your daily crunch for Thursday starts right now.
If you're a top fan of an artist, Spotify is going to give you a chance to book a ticket to their next show.
This is the audio platform's new bid to keep its users engaged and stream more to become eligible to be a top fan.
Spotify didn't give an exact criterion to be a real fan, but said it will use signals like streams, shares, and other activity.
However, it did mention that the platform's going to monitor activity to ensure that users don't game these stats using bots or AI agents.
Eligible fans will get an email and an in-app notification to buy two tickets.
The company said that eligible fans aged 18 or above in the U.S.
will get a chance to buy two tickets during a dedicated window of around a day.
It also advised users to keep alerts for live events and location settings on.
Spotify is just facilitating the sale of the ticket, and users will need to purchase the ticket on a partner's website.
Spotify said that users who receive an offer can buy tickets for any show on the tour and they can choose date, location and seats, availability of which will vary.
Starting this summer, Spotify will reserve tickets for select artists for their newly announced tours.
The company said that gradually, the program is going to expand to tours of different sizes.
Alongside tools for AI-generated podcasts, Spotify on Thursday introduced a new 11 Labs Powered AI Tool for self-publishing audiobooks within the Spotify for Authors platform.
The company said at its Investor Day event that the feature will launch in beta this June on an invite-only basis, initially with support for the English language only.
The AI-powered audiobook generation won't bind authors to an exclusive contract, meaning they are free to publish their generated audiobooks anywhere.
Now, this news builds on Spotify's previous partnership with Eleven Labs, which allowed writers to submit audiobooks created on the voice AI startup's platform to Spotify.
The audio streaming platform also already had a partnership with Google Playbooks to allow for digitally narrated content.
However, it may have wanted authors to access newer voice models that sound more expressive and human-like like those offered by Eleven Labs.
Notably, Eleven Labs had released its own self-publishing platform for authors in 2025.
Spotify is also expanding its Spotify for Authors platform to support 10 more languages, including French, Canadian French, German, Dutch, Latin American, Spanish, Swedish, Finnish, Icelandic, Danish, and Norwegian.
In addition, the company will expand its Audiobook Plus plans this year to allow for higher listening limits and will add new options for students and families in the future.
Spotify didn't specify any pricing or usage details for these plans in its announcement, however.
One of the common features for companies to build in the age of AI is to connect services like email, calendar documents, and notes to create a daily brief in text or audio format.
Well, Spotify is also giving in to this temptation and releasing a new standalone desktop app called Studio by Spotify Labs for this purpose.
Today, the company released the ability for users to explore a topic by creating a podcast about it.
Spotify is also adding personal context to this podcast generation tool.
And because in 2026, companies can't refrain from adding agents to their apps, the new Studio app has an agent that can browse the web and fetch personal info to create a personal podcast.
For instance, the tool can create a daily briefing or a podcast based on your email and schedule.
Users can also make a multi-step request like Create a daily audio brief for my road trip through Italy.
Walk me through my day using my calendar and bookings.
Recommend a memorable dinner spot near where I'll be.
And end with a podcast recommendation I'd love for the drive to generate a podcast.
All these AI-generated podcasts are saved in your Spotify library for personal consumption and are synced across devices.
They're not available publicly.
The audio company warned that this is an early preview of the app and AI can make mistakes and may output unreliable content all the time.
The company is releasing this app in research preview to more than 20 markets.
It said that the app will be available to select users who are 18 years or older.
And folks, that's your Daily Crunch!
Today's stories were reported by Ivan Mehta and more awesome TechCrunch journalists.
We'll see you here tomorrow, same Tech Time, same Crunch channel, and until then, find us at TechCrunch.com.