Voices Share Royalty Split & Chirp Audiobooks | Why You NEED Findaway Voices

About this video

In the second part of an interview with Will Degas, head of Findaway Voices, Dale explores two features presented as reasons to use the platform. Voices Share is described as a hybrid royalty-share program: instead of the exclusive, single-retailer deals typical of other royalty-share programs, it keeps wide distribution to retailers, libraries, subscription platforms, and overseas markets. It cuts upfront production cost by 50% — the example given is a $1,000 audiobook costing the author $500 — because, Will argues, narrators still incur editing, mastering, proofing, and outsourcing costs and should not work for $0 upfront. On royalties, the author keeps 60%, Findaway takes its standard 20% distribution fee, and the narrator gets 20%. Authors can buy out at any time for 1.5x the production price (in the example, another $1,000), after which the narrator keeps royalties earned to date and receives the buyout as a payday, avoiding a seven-year lock-in with no exit. The second feature is Chirp, BookBub’s retail audiobook outlet: unlike BookBub featured deals that link out to retailers, Chirp is itself the retailer — necessary, Will says, because you cannot discount price on Audible — with its own site, app, and listening experience. At the time, Chirp was in beta with a waitlist, and an audiobook had to be in Findaway’s catalog to get a Chirp deal.

Key takeaways

• Voices Share halves upfront audiobook production cost in exchange for giving the narrator 20% of royalties, while keeping wide distribution
• Royalty split under Voices Share: author 60%, Findaway 20% distribution fee, narrator 20%
• The 50% discount exists because narrators have real production costs and receiving $0 upfront would leave them out of pocket
• Authors can buy out at any time for 1.5x the full production price, ending the narrator’s royalty share with no fixed long term
• Chirp is BookBub’s own audiobook retailer (not a link-out deal), then in beta with a waitlist, and requires the audiobook to be in Findaway’s catalog

Episode details: published October 26, 2019 · 8:04 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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