ACX (Audiobook Creation Exchange)

Publishing terms

Formats

Audiobook (audio download)

Distribution

Audible, Amazon, Apple Books

Territories

United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, France, Japan, Australia, Spain, Brazil

Exclusivity

Not requiredDistribution is a per-title choice. Exclusive distribution limits audio sales to Audible, Amazon and Apple Books and pays the higher rate; non-exclusive pays less but leaves you free to sell elsewhere. Either way Audible's distribution right runs for an initial seven years and renews automatically in one-year terms unless either side gives sixty days' notice. You can switch exclusive to non-exclusive, or request to end distribution, ninety days after the title's first sale.

ISBN

Free ISBN supplied: NoAccepts your own ISBN: Not documentedACX does not use or require an ISBN. A title is claimed with the ASIN Amazon assigned to its ebook, and the finished audiobook is cataloged under an Audible-assigned ASIN.

Royalties

• 50%Exclusive distributionExclusive distribution, where the audio is sold only through Audible, Amazon and Apple Books. Under Audible's new royalty model, effective 26 May 2026. On an a la carte sale the rate applies to the price Audible sells at; on an Audible membership listen it applies to "Member Value" — the member's monthly fee, less discounts, taxes and fees, divided across the titles that member engaged with in proportion to their a la carte prices.
• 30%Non-exclusive distributionNon-exclusive distribution — the same Audible, Amazon and Apple Books channels, but you stay free to sell the audiobook elsewhere and in any format. Same a la carte and membership "Member Value" basis as the exclusive rate.

Fees

• Platform / setup fee — not chargedACX charges rights holders nothing to claim, produce or distribute a title; Audible takes its share through the royalty split. Any production cost is separate: your own time and equipment (DIY), a fee paid to a narrator (Pay-for-Production), or a royalty split with the narrator (Royalty Share / Royalty Share Plus).

Payment schedule

Monthly, direct from Audible by electronic payment to a bank account in the rights holder's region, in local currency (USD, GBP, EUR or CAD). Royalties totalling less than $50 in an accounting period are held and carried forward to the next period.

Rights & privacy

Manuscript upload

Required

Cloud storage

Yes

Account required

Yes

AI features

Not determined

AI training on your work

The terms are unclearThe Audiobook License and Distribution Agreement (revised 26 May 2026) does not mention AI, machine learning or model training. The exclusive grant is broad enough — an exclusive licence to use the audiobook "in all formats now known or hereafter invented", sublicensable to affiliates and third parties — that it is scoped by purpose-neutral breadth rather than by an explicit statement either way. Audible runs its own AI-narration programmes, but those are separate from the rights granted over a rights holder's recording under this agreement as read.

Content licence

Under exclusive distribution, an exclusive worldwide licence to use, reproduce, display, market, sell and distribute the audiobook throughout the chosen Territory "in all formats now known or hereafter invented", which Audible may sublicense to any of its affiliates or to any third party. Non-exclusive grants the same rights without exclusivity. The initial term is seven years and renews automatically in one-year terms unless either party gives sixty days' notice; on termination the granted rights revert to the rights holder, though Audible keeps what it needs to let earlier purchasers re-download.

Deletion

Ninety days after a title's first sale a rights holder may request termination by email; Audible processes it within about thirty days and all granted rights revert. Audible keeps limited rights so earlier purchasers can still download what they bought.

Export

Non-exclusive distribution places no limit on selling the same audiobook elsewhere, in any format — fully portable. Exclusive distribution forbids all other audio distribution for the term, but you can move to non-exclusive or leave ninety days after the first sale, so the lock is real but time-limited.

Policy reviewed 25 September 2026

Recent changes

1. 26 May 2026

   New royalty model

   Audible's new royalty model took effect: exclusive distribution rose from 40% to 50% and non-exclusive from 25% to 30%. New and newly claimed titles are enrolled automatically, and the legacy model is due to be discontinued by the end of 2026.