The Speakies are the newer UK-based relative (technically the British Audio Awards) of the US' Audies Awards, celebrating the best of the year's audiobooks. Like the Audies, the Speakies are open to indie titles, which is why I make sure to spend some time scouring the shortlists and winners when they appear. And this past week the shortlist came out.
ALLi News Editor Dan Holloway
There are two things I want to pick out from this year's Speakies Awards. First is around sponsorship. As you might imagine, companies in the audio space are sponsors (eleven of the eighteen award categories have sponsorship). But Audible is a notable absentee, which makes Spotify's presence (supporting the nonfiction memoir category, very much in line with their early audiobook focus) all the more noteworthy.
Second, congratulations to indie author Sasha Cottman, shortlisted in the Romance category for A Wild English Rose, notably published by the author through Spotify Audiobooks.
Spotify Expands Partner Program
And talking of Spotify, the platform has just announced that its Partner Program is expanding into a further thirty-five markets. You can find a list of all the new areas covered on the Spotify blog. The Partner Program is a way for podcasters to pair with selected sponsors for episodes and benefit from either a cut of premium subscription fees or, for listeners without a paid subscription, to earn enhanced rates through adverts from those sponsors. Spotify claims that creators who are in the Partner Program have seen a 45 percent increase in listenership since joining up.
No date for the expansion has been specified at this point, but the announcement states that it will happen in “the Fall,” so it appears to be imminent. The eligibility criteria for the Program, as listed on its homepage, are:
- 1,000 Spotify audience members over the last thirty days
- 2,000 Spotify hours consumed over the last thirty days
- At least three episodes published (all time)
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