Does apple offer music and audio books under one subscription
Executive summary
Apple does not, as a matter of general policy, bundle audiobooks into its Apple Music subscription; audiobooks are normally purchased individually through the Apple Books storefront rather than delivered as part of the Apple Music catalog [1] [2]. Occasional limited experiments — such as a short U.S.-only rollout of a handful of free audiobooks for Apple Music users — have occurred, but they are exceptions rather than a permanent, cross-market audiobook tier inside Apple Music [3].
1. Apple’s product split: music in one place, books in another
When Apple separated iTunes into distinct apps, the company deliberately moved music and spoken-word books into different products: Music for streaming songs and Apple Books (Books app) for ebooks and audiobooks, a split that explains why audiobooks are not treated as part of an Apple Music subscription [2] [4]. Community guidance from Apple’s own discussion boards reiterates that audiobooks and ebooks sold by Apple are not delivered via a recurring audiobook subscription through Apple, and that purchased audiobooks are one‑time buys rather than a streamed entitlement included with Apple Music [1] [5].
2. What Apple Music actually covers
Apple Music is a subscription-based streaming service focused on songs, albums, playlists and music videos and does not provide a comprehensive audiobook library as part of its regular catalog; mainstream summaries and guides consistently state that audiobooks are not included with an Apple Music subscription [6] [2]. That separation means that features tied to subscription status in Apple Music (offline playback, catalog access while subscribed) do not extend to audiobooks purchased in the Books app — those purchases are handled differently and remain available as owned content rather than subscription-licensed streaming tied to Apple Music [4] [5].
3. Exceptions, experiments and confusing signals
Apple has experimented with limited audiobook offerings inside Music: for example, Apple Music made 13 audiobooks available to stream free for U.S. Apple Music subscribers as a one-time promotion, signaling potential content experimentation but not a permanent shift to include audiobooks universally in Apple Music [3]. Third‑party writeups and some online how‑to guides sometimes blur the lines — some sources imply ways to access or integrate audiobooks with Apple Music workflows — but these are either misleading or describe narrow, conditional workarounds rather than a unified Apple subscription that covers both music and full audiobook access [7] [8].
4. Apple One, the Books gap, and market pressure
Apple’s multi-service bundle, Apple One, aggregates Music, TV+, Arcade, iCloud and News+ in various tiers but historically has not included a dedicated Apple Books audiobook subscription or an “all‑you‑can‑read/listen” allowance, a conspicuous omission critics note could help Apple Books compete with Audible and Spotify’s expanding spoken‑word moves [9]. Commentators have argued that adding some Apple Books benefit into Apple One would shore up the Books business; Apple has so far kept Books outside the core bundled offering, reinforcing the practical reality that music and audiobooks remain separate in Apple’s subscription architecture [9].
5. Practical takeaway for consumers
For users seeking a single recurring subscription to cover both music streaming and broad audiobook access, the current Apple ecosystem requires two different approaches: an Apple Music subscription for music and individual purchases through Apple Books (or a separate audiobook service like Audible) for audiobooks, because Apple does not offer an ongoing audiobook subscription bundled into Apple Music or Apple One at scale [1] [10] [6]. If future promotions or product changes occur, Apple’s pattern suggests they will announce limited experiments first — but as of the reporting cited, a combined, comprehensive Apple subscription for both music and audiobooks does not exist [3] [2].