Rights Holder

What do you mean by Rights Holder?

The Rights Holder is the person or entity that owns all rights required to make a book available for production and distribution as an audiobook. The Rights Holder may be the book’s author, a publisher, a literary agent, or the author’s estate.

Rights Holders use ACX to:

Make books available for production as audiobooks;
Grant audiobook production rights to Producers, in order to create the book
Grant distribution rights of the finished audiobook to Audible.

I got a message from an audiobook publisher asking me to remove my title from ACX because they want to license it, produce it, and distribute it independent of ACX. How can I compare potential revenue from using ACX to make my audiobook versus licensing it to an audiobook publisher who wants to sign my book?

As a Rights Holder, it’s possible that you will receive messages from audiobook publishers that want to license, produce, and/or distribute your audiobook independent of ACX. ACX is neutral about how you choose to produce your audiobook—do it on our system, or outside of it—we just want to make sure it gets made, and made well! That’s why we offer a professional audiobook production and distribution service, but also encourage you to consider working with an established audiobook publisher.

That said, when deciding how you want your audiobook produced, be sure you compare what you’d earn with ACX versus an audio producer. The comparison isn’t always easy, so before making any decisions, be sure check the following:

With an audiobook publisher, you’ll typically have less creative control than with ACX.
With an audiobook publisher, you’ll generally get less money per unit sold (because you’ll be paid a percent of their percentage).
With ACX, you’re “going direct” and earning 100 percent of the royalties (or 50 percent of the royalties if you choose to against up-front payments and enter into a Royalty Share deal with the Producer). Based on the ACX Escalator Royalty Rates, that percentage your royalties will increase with your sales.
Audiobook publishers often pay a significant advance on future royalties, so you might get money in hand before the audiobook is even made.
Audiobook publishers are selective about what they invest in, so getting an offer from one is relatively rare—especially on (even slightly) older titles, where they can’t have a simultaneous release with the hardcover book.

How do I know if I have the rights to my book? I wrote it, but…

Check the contract for your print book. It should state whether digital audio rights (or simply “audio rights” or “all rights”) were already granted to the publisher. If you’re still not 100 percent certain about what the contract says—and please be completely certain—call your agent or lawyer and inquire. Learn more about territory rights here.

What happens if I realize midway through the audiobook production process that I don’t actually have rights to the title?

If the First 15 Minutes of the audiobook was approved, the Rights Holder can still cancel the production by paying the Producer a “kill fee.” Instructions are as follows:

If it’s a Pay For Production deal, the Rights Holder will pay the Producer a cancellation fee equal to 75 percent of the estimated total production fee listed on the Deal Confirmation Page.
If it’s a Royalty Share deal, the Rights Holder will pay the Producer a cancellation fee equal to five hundred dollars, plus all actual costs the Producer incurred in producing the Audiobook.

This is covered in greater detail in the Production Standard Terms.

Remember that Producers are putting a lot of time and effort into producing the audiobook, and often are giving up other work when working on the audiobook project, so we’ve tried to build a system that is fair to both Rights Holders and Producers. Being considerate to the hardworking Producers is why it’s good to be 100 percent certain about your rights before beginning a project.

What happens if I realize after my audiobook’s already on sale that I don’t actually have rights to the title?

We have some steps in place to deal with this potential situation. They’re outlined in the Account Holder Agreement and Book Posting Agreement, and they basically tell you following:

Audible will pull the audiobook from the stores we distributed it to: Audible.com, Amazon.com, and iTunes.
You will be asked to return all royalties you’ve earned from the audiobook to Audible.
You agree to indemnify and protect Audible, its sub-distributors and any other ACX participant from any losses or liabilities incurred because you did not have, or it is claimed you did not have, all the rights required to grant the rights you granted through ACX. This means that, among other things, you may be required to pay for the cost of counsel to defend Audible, its sub-distributors, and other ACX participants, and to pay for damages awarded in a court of law.

Please be considerate and only post a title to ACX after you’re completely confident that you control the audio rights to it.

I’m a published author with a major publisher, and I think they hold my audio rights. Do I have any options?

It’s certainly possible. You or your agent should read your contract to double check who owns the audio rights. If the publisher holds the rights and has not produced your book as an audiobook, and if they don’t have plans to do so in the immediate future, you should request that your title gets added to ACX—by either you or the publisher. Note that you will have to contact the publisher and inquire as to whether they'd be interested in posting the book on ACX as well.

Tip about Rights:Whether you add your book to ACX, or your publisher does is between you and them. If your publisher still holds the audio rights then they can go on ACX to claim the right to your title (the first step in the process), but then ask you to add the details about the book. Perhaps they’ll also ask that you handle the process of auditioning narrators on ACX. Again, this process would be up to you and them.

Can I ask a Producer to audition for my book?

You can ask as many Producers as you’d like to audition for your book. Remember, Producers include narrators. In fact, ACX advises you to choose and make an Offer to a Narrator only after you hear them reading from the actual book you want them to record. That’s why we thought it was important to include the audition script feature. You want to hear the Narrator reading your words, not just a generic passage.

How To Do It: From a narrator’s ACX profile page, simply click “Send Message” and write them a note. Include a link to your Title Profile, which should contain a one or two-page Audition Script you want narrators to read and record.

I’m a Rights Holder interested in hiring a particular narrator I see on ACX. What do I do now?

You have two choices:

Click the “Send Message” button on their profile and ask them to audition for your title. Include a link to your Title Profile. (Make sure you’ve created a rich Title Profile, including an audition script for them to read.)
Click the “Make Offer” button on their profile if you’re ready to make them a binding Offer to produce your audiobook. Make sure that the narrator is also a full-fledged Producer (most on ACX are) and is ready to produce your audiobook, and isn't just seeking to get subcontracted for their narration expertise by a Producer.

Please note: The narrators you find on ACX are expected to be Producers, and create fully produced, retail-ready audiobooks. As Producers, they may work with third parties to assist in the production of your audiobook, but the audiobook should be in their voice, or the voice they auditioned with.

I’m an author and would like to narrate my own audiobook. How can I do this?

We encourage you to try your hand at narrating. Search Google for a local recording studio that has experience producing professional audiobooks. If you can’t find a local studio, try contacting the ACX team, and maybe we can help. We also give tips to help you become a more effective narrator and even set up a simple home recording studio here.

Tip for authors that want to narrate their own books: We’ve found that audiobooks narrated by the author work best for non-fiction works, which don’t require the same kind of acting chops that fiction does.

What specifications do I have to follow for the cover art associated to my audiobook?

Product images submitted over ACX must meet the following requirements:

Images must contain both the name of the title and author(s)
The resolution of these images can be no smaller than 72 dpi.
Images must be RGB, not CMYK.
Images must be squared. The squared cover must be a true squared cover and cannot be rectangular with colored borders on the side. (CD case cover/jacket, e.g.)
Images should be at least 24-bit. Images cannot refer to physical CD's or media other than the audio presented.
Jewel cases, promotional stickers, and cellophane are not allowed. Pornographic and offensive materials are not allowed.
Images must be no smaller than 1200 X 1200 pixels in size. Audible is updating its artwork requirements to meet the demands of customers, as well as the capabilities of their listening devices. Beginning March 15th, 2013, ACX will be changing the requirement to 2400x2400 pixels.
Images should not be stretched to fit the required dimensions

For more information on this, please read the pdf version of our Cover Art Requirements.

Can I use the cover art from the print edition to my book for my audiobook?

Once again, it’s a question of rights. Check whether you have contractual permission from the artist or print publisher. Your book jacket may have combined an original image from one artist with text that was laid out by a separate graphic artist. You’ll need to make sure you have rights to all of it. Otherwise, we advise that you create original art, or have someone you know do so, and then assign you all rights. If you have absolutely no way to secure or create cover art, ACX allows you to choose from a nondescript cover art during the upload process. You are free to use one of the standard cover arts that the system can create on the fly for you. Note that it is of course always best to have highly designed and visually-appealing imagery supporting your product in order to best merchandise your book.

Please be sure to always follow our Cover Art Requirements.

Please note that once your audiobook has begun production you will have the opportunity to upload cover art. (The print book's artwork that comes with the Title Profile will automatically disappear.)

Tip about cover art: The artwork for digital audiobooks is rarely displayed larger than a square inch or so. It isn’t quite as critical as the book jacket that’s used to catch a customer’s eye on the shelf or table in a bookstore.

How can I create original cover art for my audiobook?

It’s pretty easy to find and hire a good graphic designer. If you don’t know one, try posting a request on Craigslist. Or use a cost-effective design service like 99designs.com, which is a competitive design marketplace that functions a little like ACX, matching freelance designers with people in need of a design.

Please be sure to always follow our Cover Art Requirements.

I thought Audible didn’t accept Public Domain works, yet I see public domain books posted with Title Profiles. Why?

Currently, ACX doesn’t accept Public Domain titles posted for production by third parties. However, Audible may occasionally post Public Domain works for production. In these cases, if you are a Producer, you will receive an Offer from Audible and enter into the ACX Audiobook Production Standard Terms with Audible.

How can I learn more about getting started?

For more on getting your title up and running on ACX, see the section Books and Creating Title Profiles

Rights Holders