From dark fantasies to sports romances, the appetite for “spicy” reads is ever-growing. The genre continues to balloon in popularity, with creators and authors taking to social media to debate, rate, and recommend the latest reads.
Spicy Audiobooks is a longform video segment born out of that insight, anticipating and capitalizing on the burgeoning popularity of more niche genres like romantasy and hockey romances. Specifically, Spotify identified a sub-niche of audiobook lovers within the spicy community who were looking for more spaces to connect online. From that, the series was born.
Hosted by popular BookTok creators Kevin T. Norman and Hina, Spicy Audiobooks allows lovers of spicy reads and listens to connect, celebrate, and share recommendations, all while driving awareness and consideration of audiobooks on the Spotify platform.
With spicy reads taking over the feed, we leaned into what listeners were already loving and created something that felt true to how they find and share book and audiobook recommendations. That allowed us to introduce more people to audiobooks on-platform in a way that felt organic, not forced.
Our first installment of Spicy Audiobooks launched in 2024. In 2025, the second episode was released on Valentine’s Day, when conversation was at an all-time high on social.
Taking findings from launch to evolve and expand the series, we started by turning up the heat on our creative, from the set design to our series segments. Filmed off-site at a loft in Brooklyn, the set invited intimacy and warmth with plush, sunken couches, soft curves, and layered lighting that created a comfortable and inviting atmosphere for our hosts and viewers.
BookTok creators Kevin T. Norman and Hina returned as hosts, building on pre-established connections with viewers. The format was a digital book club meets game show, with our hosts guiding viewers through gamified segments published on Spotify, YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram. Kevin and Hina rated their favorite spicy listens from one to five chili peppers, answered fan questions in our Spice Mail segment, and played a saucy game of Would you rather…
Author, actress, and singer Hayley Kiyoko made a surprise guest appearance to discuss her new YA audiobook, Where There’s Room for Us. Having a multi-hyphenate guest made the series relevant for music and audiobook fans alike.
We also diversified our cross and off-platform promotional efforts, including a dedicated Spicy Audiobooks hub on Spotify, complete with a playfully-conceived but seriously-executed five chili pepper scale ranking based on ‘spiciness,’ altogether driving meaningful awareness and consumption of audiobooks on and off-platform.
To date, the 2025 installment of Spicy Audiobooks has been watched for a total of 719 hours, a run time of nearly one month.
The series proved the value of engaging authentically and meaningfully with sub-niches with hosts and guests who are already experts in those spaces, and trusted within the communities that drive the fandoms and online conversation.
Since audiobooks launched on Spotify in 2023, there has been incredible opportunity to drive awareness and consideration of the feature. As a beloved streaming platform for music and podcasts, we’ve encouraged users to expand their listening habits through targeted, social-first campaigns.
Spicy Audiobooks made audiobook lovers and spice enthusiasts feel seen, heard, and celebrated.
