Can I remove my audiobook from ACX exclusivity? | What is #Audiblegate? Audible and ACX Controversy

ACX stands for audiobook creation exchange. This is the audiobook self-publishing platform for Amazon. This gets your audiobook out to Audible, Amazon, and Apple.

ACX, much like other Amazon Self-Publishing programs, incentivizes exclusivity. While it isn’t the same as Kindle Select with special deals and promotions if you are exclusive with ACX you get a higher royalty rate on your books. You get a 40% royalty on your audiobook if you are exclusive, compared to 25% if you are not exclusive. (Also, 40% is still a crappy royalty rate, but that’s not why we are here today). So the difference in royalty rates is pretty tempting to go exclusive.

This leads us to Audiblegate. For years Audible has been advertising their subscription to avid readers and listeners. One of their many listed benefits is that you can use your monthly credits that you get from this subscription to listen to any audiobook in their catalog. If you don’t like the book for whatever reason you can return it, no questions asked, so you can listen to another book. Sounds like a reasonable enough benefit. Especially if you as the listener clicked to listen to a sample and accidentally redeemed your credit. Or you thought you were getting a book about vampires, but instead you got a nature book about Transylvania. I don’t know, there are a lot of legitimate reasons a listener may want to return an audiobook. But, what Audible was doing was telling their subscribers to return all of their audiobooks to re-use their credits. So they listened to the audiobook, they liked it enough to finish it, and then when the subscriber wanted to cancel with Audible because the monthly cost was a little high, Audible was instructing them to redeem all the credits from the past year to get a whole year's worth of books. Which makes them like a library. Only instead of paying authors with a library model, they counted every one of those returns as a ding against the author and processed a negative royalty against the author. That’s right. They told customers to return books and then went to the author and said, “this book was returned so that pitiful $4 you got months ago with our 40% royalty, you have to give that back.”

Again, I’m linking you to information, you can learn all about these shenanigans through Susan May’s Fair Deal for Authors and Narrators Facebook group and the Audiblegate website.

You can ask after 90 days. So here is how you can get your audiobook out of an exclusive contract so you can get paid for your hard work and IP on other platforms.

I’m going to show you the exact process I just went through to get my own book out of an exclusive contract.

For books where you bring the files, either because you self-narrated or you paid a narrator upfront, you can make this ask after 90 days.

To make this request you need to first ensure your book has been on ACX for more than 90 days. Check!
Next, you need to go to their “Contact Us” page and select the exact issue. They make it easy.
“Other” “Change Distribution”
You input the details for the book. I include the ASIN as well as the Audible link to the book.

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[robinschwartz]

This is important information for even someone who hasn’t published yet. I had no idea such things existed and I can now watch out for.

[AmyKurylo]

Thank you! I was looking everywhere for it and couldn't find it. I remembered from the contract that I could opt out, but was frustrated when I couldn't find any literature on the subject. You made it easy. Thanks!

[a.c.calloway]

This has helped me a great deal. I am going to make my request to be free of being exclusive. I dont' see audible promoting independent authors. thank you

[sajank]

Perfect timing. In the process of narrating my book (eBook published on Amazon, but paperback is proving to be difficult because of formatting). So, I think I am just going to Apple and elsewhere to release the AudioBook.

[SheilaLowe]

Did you actually do a video on removing a book from ACX when there is a royalty share arrangement?

[sheilatextorbeeministries]

Wow so glad you put this out, I’m going to make my first book in audio this summer as well. Any tips?

[ZafUA]

Hello MK.
I published my first book in Oct, my 40 and below readers all want the book to be audio. So I started doing some research and of course came looking in your videos. I wasn't disappointed. Thank you, great video.
So what is the downside to doing an ACX exclusive with royalty sharing (other than lower royalty)?
Is the royalty sharing in lieu of upfront payments to the narrator?
What happens to the royalty sharing relationship, if you decide to move away from ACX exclusive after the 90 days or more?
Thanks much in advance.

[brannathomas]

I have so much problems with amzon kdp and acx. Im pretty much done with them... their team behind the sences are kinda ridiculous to even try to comunicate with. And when i ask for help they always just sent a copy and paste responds like im talking to ai.

[JustInTimeWorldbuilding]

If you’re part of kindle unlimited, does your ACX need to be exclusive? I’m curious because I’m considering kindle unlimited

[kwankewlai]

Is there a downside to going through ACX for exclusive to take advantage of their market of 45% of the audiobook audience and then after 90 days switch to non-exclusive and use Findaway Voices to get to their wide distribution? If I do that I have to download my files to FV? BTW I'm doing my own audiobook. Thanks.

[southernscribe]

If I haven't completed uploading the audio files of the audiobook to ACX, does that mean I haven't agreed to the contract? It says in the contract if you click "Agree and Continue" you've agreed to the contract. I don't know if I clicked anything before setting up the description and entering the chapter names. Does the "Agree and Continue" part come after you've uploaded all the audio files?

[christianburgos]

Can i go from Kindle to Audible only? Or you have to have the print version too? Thanks for the info. Amazing video.

[gwendolynmares]

is there anyway to just remove your book altogether?

[VincentSaturn]

Hey, I'm about to make my audio books available on audible, but I want to keep them for free on my Youtube channel. Would that still be considered non-exclusive?

[DeeDauphineeWriter]

Thanks for your video(s). Man, I may have messed up. I have always been trad published, but I (and my agent) were screwed in the last book's audion contract, so I self-published my new novel. I lucked into an amazing actor in LA who wants to produce the audiobook and we agreed to do a royalty share. I think I'm okay with not going wide, but I'm really bummed about being left out of libraries. Since I can not change the exclusivity (royalty share), is there nothing I can do to make it at least somewhat available for librarians?