Audible’s New Royalty Model Screws Authors

About this video

Dale warns about Audible’s new royalty model, still in beta and not yet affecting authors who publish through ACX, which he transcribes as ‘a CX.’ The headline rates are 50% for exclusives and 30% for non-exclusive, but Robin Sullivan — wife and business manager of bestselling author Michael J. Sullivan, who has met with Audible leadership — argues the catch is Plus catalog pooling. Under the old system, Plus titles got a one-time buyout regardless of streams; the new model promises ongoing royalties. However, when a Premium member spends a credit and also streams Plus titles, part of that credit’s value is siphoned to other authors in the Plus pool, so the author who sold the book subsidizes Audible’s all-you-can-listen catalog even if they never opted into Plus, with no clear answer on whether Audible also pays itself for its own Plus titles. Dale recaps Audiblegate in 2020 — a 365-day return policy even after full listens, royalties clawed back, hidden returns, more than 12,000 authors signing a letter, and a fix that only protected royalties after seven days — and Brandon Sanderson’s 2022 refusal to use Audible, when exclusives earned 40% and non-exclusive 25% versus 70% on other digital platforms, followed by his 2024 acceptance of a promised new structure and later disappointment. Sullivan proposes keeping Premium and Plus pools separate, and Dale cites her petition as of August 18th, 2025 with a little over 8,000 signatures toward a goal of 10,000.

Key takeaways

• New beta model advertises 50% exclusive and 30% non-exclusive, but is not yet rolled out to ACX authors
• Robin Sullivan says credit value is diverted to the Plus pool when a listener mixes a credit purchase with Plus streaming, even for non-Plus authors
• Sullivan’s proposed fix is to keep the Premium pool and Plus pool separate so 100% of a credit goes to that book’s author
• Audiblegate in 2020 featured a 365-day return window and clawed-back royalties; more than 12,000 authors signed a protest letter
• Dale cites Sullivan’s petition at a little over 8,000 signatures as of August 18th, 2025, with a goal of 10,000

Episode details: published August 20, 2025 · 9:42 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. Business results and any income figures mentioned are Dale L. Roberts’s own claims, shared for education — they are not typical or guaranteed.

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