Enabling playback speed in audiobooks

[lunagroh]

Now that “Audiobook” is a Spotify category it would be better if users had the option to change the playback speed like we do with Podcasts.

[Ver]

Hey @lunagroh,

Thanks for posting here on the Community 🙂

Currently there is an option to change the speed while listening to an audiobook. 

On the left, next to the skip button, there should be a button for changing the speed.

In case you can't change the speed, it's a good idea to restart your device and then to log out and log back in again.

If that doesn't help, you can send us a screenshot of the New Playing bar. We'll look into this further.

If you need anything else, the Community is here for you.

[RichardR]

Hi, I can't find the change of speed button on my "now playing" page or bar.

Here are screenshots of them while playing an audiobook.

could you please help?

Thanks a lot!

Richard

[Alex]

Hey @RichardR,

Thanks for the post.

I'll try to clarify what's happening.

Previously Spotify had audiobooks uploaded to the platform in the form of songs, with each song representing a chapter of the book, all parts of a playlist. Some audiobooks are still on the platform in the form of playlists and currently it's not possible to alter the playback speed of songs. I checked the audiobook "Drei Kameradinnen" and it is indeed uploaded in the form of a playlist with songs, which explains why you can't see the change playback speed option.

Now audiobooks on Spotify are uploaded in the form of Podcasts, where you can change the playback speed. However, this has not been done for all audiobooks, as it's something that the publisher/ rights holder needs to do.

Can you check this audiobook and let us know if you see the playback speed button. It should look like this:

Keep us posted.

[RichardR]

Hi Alex,

many thanks for the explanation.

Indeed I have the speed control button on the playback bar in this book. I can only hope that German publishers re-publish their books in the form of podcasts.

Thanks again,

Richard

[fididesoleil]

Hello, I have the same problem with the audio book I want to listen to. Has spotify contacted the right holders to tell them to upload the audio books as podcasts?

[fididesoleil]

Another question: why can't the same functionality be added for the category "Audiobook"? That would be so much more efficient than relying on every publisher to upload the audiobook again? It is really too bad that there is no solution for Android to change the playback speed for audio books!

[gorgaaa]

There is also no solution for iPhone. Being able to alter the playback speed of all media (podcast, audiobooks, songs) should be available. 

[modiX91]

Hi, sure this explanation makes sense, but the apparent solution is not a good one. Why can't Spotify locate those old audio books and convert them to podcasts? Alternatively, why can't I simply enable speed controls on music (optional setting), so that I can listen to old audio books in fast pace. This is a frustrating experience.