Med en bokhylla i byxfickan

Sammanfattning: Storytel is the leading streaming digital audiobook service in Sweden with over 200 000 users. The audiobook market is thriving, but there is still a lack of interest from researchers. The aim of this thesis is to map the Storytel users: who they are, what they listen to, and how they use the service. The thesis also aims to analyse how the audiobook medium affects the reading experience. In order to gain a more comprehensive view of the audiobook and its users, multiple angles of approach were used in the thesis: best-seller lists from Storytel and Svensk bokhandel were compared; a survey directed towards Storytel users was conducted; Storytel’s content manager Angelica Fredriksson was interviewed; the Storytel app was downloaded and analysed. The result of this thesis is that the audiobook market has changed. The main target group is middle aged women, however the Storytel users today span several age groups. Crime fiction is the most popular genre, but what matters most to the listener when choosing an audiobook is the narrator, even more so than the author. The audiobook medium facilitates multitasking, which can add value to an otherwise monotone activity such as cleaning. Lastly, the thesis shows that the audiobook and the printed book can coexist, and that the reader easily can alternate between the two mediums.