Spotify for Authors

Publishing terms

Formats

Audiobook (download and streaming on Spotify)

Distribution

Spotify

Territories

Spotify's audiobook markets

Exclusivity

Not requiredUploading direct to Spotify for Authors places the audiobook on Spotify only and does not require exclusivity — the same title can be distributed elsewhere at the same time (for instance through Voices by INaudio for wider retail and library reach, or ACX non-exclusive). Spotify for Authors itself does not distribute beyond Spotify.

Royalties

• 50% of list priceA la carte purchase50% of the suggested retail price (SRP) the author or company sets, on a direct purchase of the audiobook by a Spotify listener.
• Premium streamingPremium streamingFor listens by Spotify Premium subscribers whose plan includes audiobooks, a pro-rata share of the total consumption of distributed audiobook content, "as reasonably determined by Spotify". No fixed percentage is published.

Fees

• Setup / distribution fee — not chargedFree to open an account, upload and distribute to Spotify.
• Payout fee — $0.30Charged on each Spotify Payouts payment. Balances under $10 carry forward until the threshold is met.

Payment schedule

Monthly via Spotify Payouts (or Tipalti for authors outside the US, and for US authors who joined before 4 May 2026). Paid in the last two weeks of the month once the balance reaches $10, which otherwise carries forward. A $0.30 fee applies per payout, and the first payout follows a 30-day onboarding period.

Rights & privacy

Manuscript upload

Required

Cloud storage

Yes

Account required

Yes

AI features

Optional

AI training on your work

Not determinedThe Spotify for Authors Distribution Terms contain no clause on AI training, machine learning or voice models. Separately, the portal offers an optional AI-narration tool that generates a reading from a manuscript using ElevenLabs voices — a creation feature, not a use of the author's own recording. Whether uploaded content or a supplied recording may be used to train models is not addressed in the distribution terms, and the content-rights section of the Spotify for Authors Terms of Use was not read in this pass.

Content licence

The Distribution Terms grant Spotify a licence to distribute the audiobook to Spotify's consumer platform, and reference Section 4 (Content and Intellectual Property Rights) of the Spotify for Authors Terms of Use for the full grant, which was not read in this pass. The author sets the suggested retail price and can request removal at any time, with prior purchasers retaining access.

Deletion

A title can be pulled at any time by request; Spotify uses commercially reasonable efforts to remove it within about thirty business days. Listeners who already bought or accessed it keep access.

Export

Non-exclusive and Spotify-only by design, so the same audiobook can be distributed anywhere else at the same time — for example via Voices by INaudio or ACX non-exclusive — and pulled from Spotify on request.

Policy reviewed 25 September 2026