At a glance
- Manuscript upload
- Required
- Cloud storage
- Yes
- Account required
- Yes
- AI features
- Not determined
- AI training on your work
- Terms are silent or ambiguous
- Content licence
- Sublicensable to third parties
- Deletion
- Available
- Export / portability
- Partial
- Policy transparency
- Mixed
“Not determined” means the documents were read and did not settle it. “Not assessed” means it has not been researched. Neither means “no”.
What this means for authors
Editorial interpretation — Mixed
Some terms protect the author and others do not, or an important question is left unanswered.
Exclusive distribution grants Audible a broad, sublicensable licence to the audiobook in all formats "now known or hereafter invented" for a seven-year term that auto-renews in one-year terms, and bars any other audio distribution while it runs. What keeps this out of a worse rating is that the grant is genuinely revocable: a rights holder can switch to non-exclusive or request termination ninety days after the first sale, Audible processes it within about thirty days, and all rights revert. Against that sit a revenue split in which Audible keeps 50–70%, a membership royalty computed from an opaque "Member Value" formula, and an agreement that says nothing about AI or model training despite the breadth of the grant. Non-exclusive distribution is clean and fully portable.
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.
AI and model training
The 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.
Tracking and telemetry
Not assessed.
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 and lock-in
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.
Change history
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.
Sources
Every factual claim above is drawn from these documents.
Official terms
ACX Account Holder AgreementACX
Accessed 25 September 2026
Source for eligibility: individuals or companies resident in the US, UK, Canada or the Republic of Ireland with a local mailing address, tax identification number and banking details, and at least 18 years old.
Official terms
Audiobook License and Distribution AgreementACX
Accessed 25 September 2026 · Effective 26 May 2026
Source for the licence scope, the "all formats now known or hereafter invented" grant, sublicensing, the seven-year auto-renewing term, the ninety-day exit and reversion, and the absence of any AI/machine-learning clause.
Official help centre
Choose a distribution optionACX
Accessed 25 September 2026
Source for the exclusive vs non-exclusive choice, the Audible/Amazon/Apple Books channels, the worldwide-rights distribution territories and the seven-year distribution right.
Official help centre
How royalties workACX
Accessed 25 September 2026
Source for the monthly Audible payment, the local-currency payout and the $50 carry-forward threshold.
Official help centre
The ACX rights holder's audiobook checklistACX
Accessed 25 September 2026
Source for the ASIN-based claim flow and the requirement that the ebook already exist on Amazon; no ISBN is used.
Official announcement
Audible's new royalty modelACX
Accessed 25 September 2026 · Effective 26 May 2026
Source for the 50% exclusive / 30% non-exclusive rates, the 26 May 2026 effective date, the membership Member Value calculation and the end-of-2026 legacy discontinuation.
Caveats
This is an informational reading of published documents, not legal advice, and it describes what ACX (Audiobook Creation Exchange)’s terms permit and require rather than what the company does in practice. Terms change without announcement. How this is assessed.