Bestselling author Brandon Sanderson has criticized Audible, the audiobook giant owned by Amazon, for its “unconscionable” pay rates for indie authors. In late December, a blog post was published on his official website in which Sanderson announced that he will not be publishing his four Secret Project novels on the platform “for the foreseeable future” in protest of the low rates offered by Audible.
Sanderson explained that the industry standard for a digital product is to pay creators 70% on a sale, but Audible pays just 40%. That percentage drops even lower at 25% if an author doesn’t sign exclusively with the platform. He described this as “shameful behavior” that is “squeezing indie authors to death.” The author also pointed out that Audible requires authors to sign away their rights to any future audio production of their work, meaning that they cannot sell their audiobooks elsewhere, even if they are unhappy with the royalty payment.
Audiobooks are the fastest growing form of book consumption, with fiction audiobooks accounting for around 65% of book sales in 2021 alone. In some genres, it is estimated that audiobooks sold through Audible make up an even higher proportion of sales. Sanderson’s latest book, The Lost Metal, saw 75% of preorders in the audiobook format through Audible. However, the author is willing to forego a portion of these sales in order to make a stand against what he sees as unfair treatment of indie authors.
Sanderson said that he likes the people at Audible and does not want to make an enemy of Amazon, but feels that the company’s practices are harmful to authors. He stated that he hopes that by taking a stand and speaking out about the issue, he can help bring about change in the industry.
In his search of an Audible alternative, Brandon Sanderson said that he found that the only companies willing to take on Audible and its low pay rates for indie authors were Spotify and Speechify. He stated that he signed a deal with Spotify, but it is under an NDA. He also signed a deal with Speechify for 70% pay for any author who lists their books directly on the platform, and agreed to make the terms of the deal public.
It remains to be seen whether Sanderson’s protest will lead to any changes at Audible, but it has certainly sparked a conversation about the treatment of indie authors in the audiobook industry. As audiobooks continue to grow in popularity, it is important to ensure that authors are fairly compensated for their work and are not taken advantage of by companies looking to profit from their success.
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