Topic

Audiobooks & Streaming

3 articles tagged with “Audiobooks & Streaming”

NFC audiobook card displayed on a wooden shelf beside books and a smartphone showing an audiobook player — shelfie.audio by Bastei Lübbe

Germany's Bastei Lübbe Launches shelfie.audio — A Physical NFC Audiobook Card for Adults

German publisher Bastei Lübbe is launching shelfie.audio, a physical audiobook format using an embedded NFC chip to unlock a digital title on a smartphone without requiring a subscription. The credit-card-sized product debuts with around 30 titles by Ken Follett, Dörte Hansen, and Jojo Moyes at €16.99, launching at the Leipziger Buchmesse with exclusive availability at Thalia stores from May 4 for nine months. The platform is open to other publishers and is explicitly positioned as a 'Tonies for adults.'

March 24, 2026BuchMarkt / Publishing Perspectives

shelfie.audio Bastei Lübbe NFC

Hands holding an open book with a smartphone scanning the page — Spotify Page Match audiobook sync feature

Audiobooks & Streaming

Spotify Launches Audiobook Charts and Page Match — Competing Directly with Audible's Whispersync

Spotify has launched two significant new audiobook features: weekly Audiobook Charts in the US and UK, available to both free and Premium users, and Page Match, a camera-based tool that lets listeners scan a page of a physical book or e-reader and jump to the corresponding position in the audiobook. The charts cover both overall rankings and genre-specific lists. Page Match directly challenges Audible's long-standing Whispersync feature.

March 24, 2026Spotify Newsroom

Spotify Audiobooks Page Match

Passenger wearing headphones on long-haul flight watching audiobook interface on seatback screen at sunset

Audiobooks & Streaming

British Airways Partners with Audible for In-Flight Audiobooks — Harry Potter Full-Cast Series as UK Airline Exclusive

British Airways has partnered with Audible to offer more than 250 hours of free audiobooks and podcasts across all long-haul flights, accessible through the in-flight entertainment system. The selection includes the newly released Harry Potter full-cast audio editions — featuring over 200 British actors including Hugh Laurie, Matthew Macfadyen, Keira Knightley, James McAvoy, Simon Pegg, and Kit Harington — as a UK airline exclusive. Passengers who are new to Audible can sign up for a free two-month trial to continue listening after landing. This marks the first time Audible has been available on a UK airline.

March 24, 2026British Airways Media Centre

British Airways Audible Audiobooks