MASSIVE NEWS Coming to ACX??? | Audible Audiobook Publishing

About this video

Dale recaps fantasy author Brandon Sanderson’s stand against Audible and the improved royalty structure Sanderson says Audible has now promised independent authors and small publishers. In 2022 Sanderson publicly kept his audiobooks off Audible to protest ACX royalties and opaque sales reporting after, Dale reports, raising over $41 million in a record Kickstarter. Dale lays out the math he objects to: ACX pays 40% for exclusive and 25% for non-exclusive distribution, versus a roughly 70% standard for digital products and about 50% at brick-and-mortar stores; before early 2014 ACX used a tiered 50% rate that could escalate to 90%. He also attacks length-based audiobook pricing and the 2020 refund scandal (‘Audiblegate’). Summarizing Sanderson’s March 5, 2024 post ‘Regarding Audible,’ Dale reports the promised changes: improved minimum royalty rates (larger than a token 2%), monthly payments, and more transparent allocation between credit purchases, Audible Plus listens and discounted member purchases, with the exclusive/non-exclusive gap staying about the same and rollout sometime in 2024. Dale’s own ask: at least 50% non-exclusive (matching Spotify via Findaway Voices), at least 70% exclusive, author-set pricing, and clearer reports.

Key takeaways

• ACX pays 40% exclusive / 25% non-exclusive, versus the ~70% digital standard Dale cites; pre-2014 ACX paid a tiered 50% escalating to 90%
• Sanderson withheld his audiobooks from Audible in 2022 to protest royalties and opaque reporting, after a Kickstarter Dale reports at over $41 million
• Per Sanderson’s March 5, 2024 post as Dale reports it: improved minimum royalties, monthly payments and more transparent allocation are coming in 2024, with the exclusive/non-exclusive gap roughly unchanged
• Dale’s fair-deal demands: 50%+ non-exclusive, 70%+ exclusive, an end to length-based pricing, and understandable sales reports
• Platforms like Findaway Voices, Author’s Republic and PublishDrive let rights holders set their own retail price, unlike ACX

Episode details: published March 7, 2024 · 8:24 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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