Spotify was already one of the biggest music streaming apps on the planet before it expanded into the podcast space. While it may have lost a little ground to competitors recently, its market share of 32% is still pretty solid. It's a similar story with podcasts, as Spotify also holds the top spot there, at least in the United States. We now know what the next piece of its audio empire jigsaw will be — Spotify is acquiring audiobook platform Findaway for an undisclosed amount.

Findaway isn't a streaming app, but it operates multiple businesses related to audiobooks. It distributes them to various other platforms and allows up-and-coming creators to produce their own audiobooks through the Findaway Voices service. It serves authors, publishers, and consumers alike, making it the perfect acquisition for Spotify as it looks to step into the audiobook business. It's expected to become a $15 billion industry by 2027 (up from $3.3 billion), and Spotify wants to be an integral part of that growth.

Along with operating Findaway's various businesses, Spotify says that its infrastructure will allow it to grow its audiobook catalog quickly, so they'll likely be made available as part of your subscription in the near future. Currently, leaders in the audiobook streaming space include Amazon's Audible, Scribd, and Google Audiobooks. If this goes anything like Spotify's entry into podcasts, it'll quickly become a top competitor and overtake some of its competition. With its acquisitions of Anchor and Gimlet, it soon gained a foothold in the podcast space, making it a one-stop shop for two of the most popular audio formats.

The acquisition is expected to close before the end of the year, subject to regulatory approval. You can probably expect to find your favorite audiobooks on Spotify at some point in 2022, which will likely mean another redesign of the app in order to accommodate the new content.