Pakistani users will also get several features.
Pakistani Spotify users will finally get access to a limited library of audiobooks on the streaming platform.
The wait has lasted for years, and the new feature rolled out this week.
Spotify is offering over 100,000 titles from its global English catalogue to users in Pakistan.
Both free and premium users can access the titles through a service called Audiobooks+.
Users can search, browse and explore the available titles on the Audiobooks tab in the Spotify app.
There is a catch, however, as users must purchase a monthly allowance of 15 audiobook hours.
This allowance comes as an add-on subscription priced at PKR 489 per month.
Listeners who burn through their hours faster than expected can buy an additional 10-hour top-up.
That top-up costs PKR 579 more, according to a press release shared by Spotify.
Only the time spent actively listening will count towards the monthly allowance.
The allowance resets with each billing cycle, so unused hours do not carry over.
Users who want to own an audiobook instead of renting it can purchase individual titles.
This option lets listeners keep their favourite books without relying on the monthly subscription.
Pakistani users will also get several features that make the listening experience easier.
These include automatic bookmarking, which saves the exact spot where a listener stopped.
A sleep timer is also available for those who like to listen to books before bed.
The Page Match feature lets users switch between a print book or e-book and its audio counterpart.
This allows listeners to pick up exactly where they left off in a different format.
Users can also download audiobooks and listen to them offline whenever they want.
Reading progress will sync across devices, so listeners can move between their phone and other gadgets.
The launch comes as part of Spotify’s plan for the global expansion of audiobooks.
The streaming platform aims to reach 180 markets worldwide with this feature.
This would provide over 780 million people with access to stream or purchase audiobooks on its platform.
For Pakistani listeners, the launch finally brings a long-awaited service.
The catalogue is limited to English titles for now, which may shape who benefits most from the service.
Even so, the arrival of audiobooks marks a notable expansion of Spotify’s offerings in the country.
