If you are looking for an alternative to ACX because you want to get a larger share of the royalties from your audiobook sales, you can stop right now. It is not going to happen. Let me explain...
ACX is a wholly owned subsidiary of Audible, which in turn is a wholly owned subsidiary of Amazon. And, since they own both the means of production (ACX) and the store responsible for over 80% of global sales (Audible), they have no reason to offer anyone a better deal than they give themselves -- ever.
Many recent entrants into the world of audio production have not even bothered to try and get their own direct distribution agreements. They simply open their own ACX account, throw together a website, and start combing the internet for business. If these businesses are simply reselling ACX's service, there is no way that they are paying royalties at a rate that is higher than ACX can offer.
They tend to hide this fact through opaque terminology like, "you'll receive 75% percent of all sales."
Wow, that sounds great, doesn't it? After all, at best ACX pays 50%, right?
Wrong...
ACX pays a 50% royalty to the company in question. So, that is the total proceeds from the sale. Then, these companies pass along 75% of that to you, keeping 25% for themselves. So that whopping 75% is equal to 37.5% -- 12.5% less than if you had worked directly with ACX.
So, if the only reason that you are dissatisfied with the ACX experience is because of the size of the royalty, believe me when I tell you that no other company can honestly help you.
Comparing ACX, Voices by INaudio, and Spoken Realms
| Feature | ACX | INaudio | Spoken Realms |
|---|---|---|---|
| Higher Royalty for Limited Distribution | ✓ Exclusive | — | ✓ Exclusive |
| Pure Royalty Share Projects | ✓ Exclusive only | — | ✓ All Packages |
| Union Royalty Share Projects | Royalty Share Plus* | — | ✓ All Packages |
| Royalty Shares with Multiple Narrators/Authors | — | — | ✓ All Packages |
| Royalty Shares with Custom Royalty Percentages | — | — | ✓ All Packages |
| Hybrid Royalty Share/Traditional Payment Projects | ✓ Royalty Share Plus | — | ✓ All Packages |
| Royalty Shares with Broad Non-Exclusive Distribution | — | — | ✓ Enhanced / Everywhere |
| Sells Beyond Audible, Amazon, and Apple Books | — | ✓ | ✓ Enhanced / Everywhere |
| Digital Library Distribution | — | ✓ | ✓ Enhanced / Everywhere |
| Physical Library/Bookstore Distribution | — | — | ✓ |
| Streaming Beyond Audible | — | ✓ | ✓ Everywhere |
| Creator Can Control Streaming Participation | Limited** | ✓ By Outlet | ✓ Quarterly |
| Creator Controls Retail Pricing | Suggested Price Only*** | ✓ Where Retailer Allows | ✓ Through our Social Hub**** |
| Worldwide Rights Holder/Narrator Participation | — | N/A | ✓ |
| Physical CD Manufacturing | — | — | ✓ |
| Physical CDs Available to Content Owner at Reduced Cost | — | — | ✓ |
| Patreon Integration | — | — | ✓ |
* ACX supports SAG-AFTRA Health & Retirement contributions on qualifying Royalty Share Plus projects; a pure Royalty Share project does not provide the same union-payment mechanism.
** ACX creators can opt a title in for consideration for Audible's All-You-Can-Listen catalog, but Audible decides whether the title is included.
*** ACX allows creators to suggest a price; Audible determines the actual retail price.
**** Set Your Own Price and Pay What You Want apply to sales through our Social Hub, not third-party retailers.
If you are still reading, then you are likely among the growing group of indie authors and independent publishers who have other reasons for seeking out a non-ACX solution. Some of the most common reasons are listed below:
- Finding a curated roster of highly qualified narrators
- Securing a team of highly skilled editors, proofers, and engineers to produce consistent, high-quality audiobooks
- Removing geographical limitations to open audiobook production globally
- Creating flexible royalty arrangements that can handle multiple rights holders and multiple narrators
- Reaching a new audience of listeners by working with experts with real experience in audiobook promotion
Spoken Realms is an independent audiobook producer and packager with its own direct distribution contracts.
We do not use ACX at any point in our process.
As members of the Audio Publishers Association, we work with a diverse and talented group of Storytellers and in our In-House Productions. Our Production and Quality Control teams are highly experienced.
Feel free to contact us to learn more.
