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submitted 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) by Cinner@lemmy.world to c/piracy@lemmy.dbzer0.com

Edit: A couple times I've said eBook while I actually meant Audiobook. I've learned that Spotify has a 15 hour limit per month for their free 'included in premium' audiobooks. However these are the two books I listened to for free, and even rounding up to 13 hours it doesn't make sense, unless they count accidental chapter skips which weren't actually listened to. But it's clear now that I know about the 15 hour limit, that they are not counting the time listening to paid audiobooks.


First book I listened to for free:

Second book I listened to for free:


OG post:


I purchased 3 eBooks in the Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy series (2 came free) and I'm on the final book. 20 minutes left in the last book and this is what Spotify tells me.

I'm over the edge now. I've been putting it off too long. I have a nice NUC I purchased about a year ago.

I'm tech inclined, 20 years of hobbyism, know the linux command line well. Work in IT consulting. But I'm busy. Very busy, and unmotivated to do things like hours of research and toying with settings getting things to work, if I ever have the time.

But this is the start of my new personal revolution.

I'll read the wiki and have read about Sonarr, etc, and I also want movies and shows, but is there anything specifically for eBooks? Looks like Readarr is my best bet? Stripping the DRM of already purchased (and free with Spotify 'Premium') books to share on a seedbox is also something I'm willing to take requests on. Is there a way to rip from Spotify if you have a premium account? And what's the best Android eBook reader (the last 3-4 I tried sucked with pirated eBooks)?

I know I'm sounding like a noob asking everything to be handed to me right now, but I am willing to put in the research and welcome and highly appreciate anyone with tips to point me in the right directions.

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[-] BreakDecks@lemmy.ml 185 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

Full Explanation:

Spotify introduced Audiobooks to their platform in November 2023:

  • Unlimited listening to public domain classics.
  • 15 free hours per month of premium audiobooks.
  • 10 hour top ups available.
  • Can purchase premium audiobooks for unlimited listening.

OP purchased book 1 and can listen to it all they want. They did not purchase book 2 or 3, and also listened to other audiobooks, putting them over the 15 hour limit.

Key Facts:

  • Spotify Audiobooks are a new feature with no additional subscription cost.
  • OP used all of their free credits for the month.
  • OP was never prevented from listening to a book they purchased.

That said, stop paying for audiobooks like a chump and get a library card.

[-] Pulptastic@midwest.social 40 points 11 months ago

All the free audiobooks you want from your library using hoopla and Libby.

[-] Neil@lemmy.ml 15 points 11 months ago

I tried this and the waiting list for anything remotely worth a damn was months long. I just went and pirated the thing instead.

Has your experience been different?

[-] MidLifeCrisis@lemmy.world 6 points 11 months ago

I experience that, but you should get more library cards.

[-] Pulptastic@midwest.social 4 points 11 months ago

Hoopla has better availability but a worse app. Libby can have long wait lists but I just keep a queue going. There's always a good list of available now audiobooks to keep me going until my holds are available.

[-] Chestnut@lemmy.world 4 points 11 months ago

The more you use the library the better it is. My partner reads almost a hundred books a year. She's voracious. She reads them almost exclusively through the library. With Libby you're able to juggle holds easily so that new books are always coming up when you finish the last one. If it comes back too early you just tell it to wait.

[-] linearchaos@lemmy.world 2 points 11 months ago

I can get almost anything from my library as long as it's not the brand new hotness. Occasionally there'll be a book here or a book there that's got one person waiting in line, but our maximum checkout time is a week. I pull the book down rip the audio from it and free up my hold the same day.

[-] M500@lemmy.ml 1 points 10 months ago

What tools do you use to rip the audio? I’m just wondering so I don’t accidentally do it.

[-] linearchaos@lemmy.world 2 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

You could go as far as virtual audio cables and audacity. No matter what changes they can't stop that.

But if your library supports OD, go dig up the old PC app for OD. When you download the book to start listening to it it decrypts it as it throws it onto the drive.

Some books seem to have some weird duplicated audio here and there is a coffee protection method. Like there's some secret M3U somewhere that skips around when it plays it, but most stuff comes out clean.

If you can't get it to come out with the app use one of the virtual audio cable style applications wire the output into a line-in for audacity and just rerecord the whole thing compress it down. You lose individual chapters as files I don't really pay attention to the chapters I'm on I care about the total distance to the book and being able to pick up where I left off. I suppose if you were trying to do some kind of hybrid read and listen back and forth it would be more useful to have the chapter numbers.

[-] MonkeMischief@lemmy.today 2 points 11 months ago

I particularly seem to be into stuff that my community isn't feverishly trying to rent. That helps haha. Traditional paper books too, I could keep renewing them for a stupid amount of time because they didn't end up on hold. Found out the limit was 255 renewals until they suddenly dropped it to like 10 max. :(

But sadly all the good nerd stuff like R.A. Salvatore books or Discworld always has queues, yeah.

[-] ultra@feddit.ro 4 points 11 months ago

Fick libby, the company thatade it doesn't care about its employees

[-] lightnsfw@reddthat.com 6 points 11 months ago

That's most companies buddy.

[-] themeatbridge@lemmy.world 24 points 11 months ago

That's an awful lot of words for "Spotify is bullshit."

[-] null@slrpnk.net 15 points 11 months ago

I mean, seems like this is way better for listening to audiobooks than when they had no audiobooks whatsoever

[-] capital@lemmy.world 23 points 11 months ago

Important info here. Definitely not the impression I got from the OP.

[-] RouxBru@lemmy.world 16 points 11 months ago

So OP is complaining about being limited by the amount of free books OP can listen to? Sounds fair to me, these things cost money to make, and websites cost money to run.

[-] optissima@lemmy.world -5 points 11 months ago

How is an audiobook different from any other piece of audio?

[-] NightAuthor@lemmy.world 11 points 11 months ago
[-] chriscz@iusearchlinux.fyi 8 points 11 months ago
[-] NightAuthor@lemmy.world 6 points 11 months ago

Lol, but seriously... licensing costs the license holders nothing... but it does costs spotify something.

[-] lud@lemm.ee 1 points 11 months ago

Yeah, Spotify can't just go around pirating audiobooks.

[-] optissima@lemmy.world 3 points 11 months ago

Dang youre right there's probably a huge difference when you calculate it by the second (certainly cheaper).

[-] AgentGrimstone@lemmy.world 5 points 11 months ago

Puts pitchfork away

[-] JackbyDev@programming.dev 4 points 11 months ago

Thank you for the context.

[-] Paddzr@lemmy.world 1 points 11 months ago

Reading is hard when doing several hour long commutes... Audiobooks also can enhance the book as some are edited to cut out parts which really don't contribute. A good editor can make or break a book. I do like reading, but there are times where audiobooks not only provide better experience, they are also the most time efficient as can be enjoyed during other tasks.

[-] ReveredOxygen@sh.itjust.works 3 points 11 months ago

My library's website lets you check out audiobooks. Is that not common?

[-] Paddzr@lemmy.world 1 points 11 months ago

That's cool. Ours doesn't, but it is a rather tiny place and not those fancy libraries with 3D printers and stuff...

[-] Cinner@lemmy.world 0 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

See my other comment: https://lemmy.world/comment/7069535

You're making disingenuous assumptions when you say I listened to other audiobooks. I have only listened to this series. purchased 3, and listened to 2 of the free (premium) books. I did not listen to any other books. There were a couple times it skipped a chapter with an accidental scroll, and I had to scroll back, but I didn't actually listen so it shouldn't count.

I wasn't aware of the 15 hour limit but of course I am now as it's been pointed out many times in this thread. I didn't even know they had audiobooks until they started showing up on the opening screen of Spotify. I got hooked listening to the Steven Fry narrated OG book and then went to buy the next 3 and the last book in the series was also included in premium so I listened without buying. Still, 13 hours (which makes up for any skipping) is not 15 hours, so there's either a bug or they intentionally count unlistened to skipped chapters as being listened to.

I'm getting Libby setup today with my library card.

[-] ToxicWaste@lemm.ee -1 points 11 months ago

You do realise this is a pirate community? The way yor comment reads, it seems like you dislike OP wanting free stuff.

I am aware of people doing some mental gymnastics to justify piracy. But IMHO that is about the same difference as a pirate to a privateer. Just acknowledge that you want stuff without paying and hoist that black flag.

this post was submitted on 27 Jan 2024
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