Spotify is taking on Audible for a share in the growing audiobook market, with the recent announcement that their premium memberships will include 15 hours of access to 150,000 audiobook titles each month.

Today, one third of Australians listen to audiobooks, with many of those listeners new to the format.

Audiobooks can be a lucrative source of income for authors because they offer higher royalty rates than other formats. Audible also commissions original work from local authors.

Experts suggest a greater demand for audiobooks will mean more opportunities for revenue streams because the audio format appeals to a different kind of reader.

Opportunities for revenue from audiobooks also exist away from the major tech platforms.

For example, in March, the Federal government announced an extension to the Public and Educational Lending Rights schemes to include digital content.

This means authors will be paid when public library users borrow the audio version of their book.