BookBeat Grows by 13 Percent, Reaching Record Highs in Both New Users and Customer Loyalty

Audiobook streaming service BookBeat increased its revenue by 13 percent during the first half of 2026, adjusted for currency effects (11 percent unadjusted). The number of paying users continued to grow at a double-digit rate, surpassing 1.2 million in April. On June 14, BookBeat also set a new record when 10,931 people signed up to try the service, marking the first time the company exceeded 10,000 registrations in a single day. In addition, BookBeat recorded the highest customer loyalty in the company's history during the first six months of 2026, measured by the share of users who chose to cancel their subscription.

"We are now entering our eleventh summer season since launch, and starting it by breaking our previous record shows that both BookBeat and books continue to compete successfully for people's time. Historically, summer has been our strongest season for reaching new audiences, which is why we invest the most when the opportunity is greatest. But it's not only about attracting new users – we also want to be the best service for those who have already made audiobooks part of their everyday lives. That's why I'm especially pleased that we so far this year also achieved the highest customer loyalty in BookBeat's history," says Niclas Sandin, CEO of BookBeat.

All markets continued to grow during the second quarter. As in the first quarter, Germany stood out as the strongest performer, with BookBeat significantly increasing its inflow of new users so far this year. Poland, meanwhile, remains the market contributing the largest number of new users, just as it did throughout 2025.

A key driver behind this year's growth has been the strong publishing lineup from BookBeat's publishing partners across several markets. One example is Die Känguru-Rebellion by Marc-Uwe Kling, one of Germany's biggest book releases of the year, for which BookBeat led the broad launch campaign. At the author level, Freida McFadden and Elle Kennedy have performed exceptionally well across multiple markets, with total listening to their titles increasing by 84 percent and 214 percent respectively compared with the first half of 2025.

"We are nothing without strong publishing from authors and publishers. This spring, we've seen several examples of books reaching broad audiences across multiple target groups, channels, and formats. When that happens, we want to be the best at amplifying those cultural moments. The major launch campaign we carried out together with Marc-Uwe Kling and his publisher in Germany is a clear example of that," says Niclas Sandin.

Another important factor behind BookBeat's growth and increased customer loyalty has been the introduction of new features. During the spring, BookBeat launched several new functionalities focused on book discovery, ease of use, and personalization.

Trending Searches
BookBeat has launched a feature that shows, in real time, which books and authors are currently seeing the fastest growth in user searches.

AI-Powered Review Summaries
BookBeat now uses AI to summarize millions of user reviews into concise overviews, helping users quickly determine whether a book is right for them.

Automatic Sleep Timer
Users can now set a sleep timer that starts automatically at the time they usually listen before falling asleep in the evening.

"We develop BookBeat based on how people actually use the service. Every day, we receive millions of signals through searches, reviews, and listening patterns. Our job is to turn those signals into features that make it easier to find the right book and enjoy listening to it. There have never been more ways to listen to books. The fact that we are strengthening both new user acquisition and loyalty among existing users is proof that we continue to build the best digital service for books," says Niclas Sandin.