Amazon Music Unlimited has expanded its service to include one free audiobook per month from Audible's library for subscribers in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. This new feature applies to both Individual subscribers and Family plan primary account holders.

The integration raises questions about potential royalty implications, particularly following Spotify's recent controversial bundling strategy. Spotify's addition of audiobooks to its existing plans led to a reclassification of subscriptions as bundles, resulting in significant royalty savings under Phonorecords IV regulations.

Key differences between the services' approaches:

• Amazon Music offers one complete audiobook monthly
• Spotify limits audiobook access to 15 hours per month
• Amazon's integration is through its sister company Audible

The National Music Publishers' Association's head, David Israelite, has expressed optimism about Amazon's bundling initiative, though final agreements are still pending. This move comes as streaming services increasingly compete through expanded content offerings, with Apple Music providing exclusive access to Apple Music Classical and Spotify incorporating both audiobooks and video content.

Industry concerns center on whether Amazon Music will follow Spotify's approach to bundle classification, potentially impacting royalty payments to songwriters and publishers. While the legal framework under Phonorecords IV appears to permit such moves, the ongoing court challenge to Spotify's bundling strategy by the MLC may influence how other services proceed.

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