The audiobook market is rapidly growing, with audiobooks accounting for $2.67 billion of book sales in 2019, a number that is expected to reach $13.45 billion by 2027. That said, authors cannot ignore the importance of creating and distributing...
The audiobook market is rapidly growing, with audiobooks accounting for $2.67 billion of book sales in 2019, a number that is expected to reach $13.45 billion by 2027.
That said, authors cannot ignore the importance of creating and distributing a quality audiobook to accompany the print and digital formats of their work.
But one burning question in the minds of many self-published authors is whether they should opt for an exclusive deal with ACX or try wide distribution.
For those interested in going wide, Findaway Voices offers many enticing benefits, which we’ll explore in this review.
What Is Findaway Voices?
Founded in 2016, Findaway Voices is the world’s largest audiobook distributor that helps authors produce and sell their audiobooks through Audible, Apple Books, Google, Chirp, Scribd, and 40 other retail and library distribution partners.
In fact, they’re even the exclusive distributor to several retailers, including Chirp, which means you can only sell with those companies if you distribute through Findaway.
Unlike ACX (Audiobook Creation Exchange), Findaway Voices does not have any exclusivity options, which may appeal to authors who prefer wide distribution. However, there are trade-offs to consider, which we’ll cover in this post.
Findaway Voices Review
Let’s take a look at what Findaway Voices has to offer authors, and see where it differs from ACX.
Exclusivity
ACX incentivizes exclusivity by offering higher royalty rates (40%) than if you went wide, but you’ll be limited to selling your audiobook on Audible, iTunes, and Amazon.
Findaway Voices doesn’t have an exclusivity option, and they offer over 40 options for distribution. However, they do take a flat fee of 20% of your net royalties, which is what’s left after they have to share with their partners (who usually take 50–60%).
Pricing Control
Unlike ACX, which gives authors zero control over the pricing of their audiobooks, Findaway Voices lets you control the retail and library pricing for your book on most audiobook sellers.
One exception is Audible: if you choose to sell on Audible through Findaway Voices, Audible will still control the pricing.
Findaway Voices offers guidelines to help you determine the ideal pricing for your book, but it’s ultimately
still up to you.
Here’s a sample of the price ranges they recommend:
Royalties
Findaway Voices offers an 80% royalty rate, but you should note that that isn’t 80% of your list price.
Rather, since Findaway Voices is an aggregator, they must give their partners a cut of the sales. With most non-Amazon retailers, Findaway gets to keep about 40–50% of the list price, and you’ll get 80% of that.
So if you sell an audiobook for $20 through one of their partners and they keep 50%, Findaway will get $10. They’ll keep 20% and give you 80% (which means $8 for you).
Findaway pays out royalties every month if the $100 threshold is reached.
In contrast, ACX offers a 40% royalty rate when you sign an exclusive contract. So under that agreement, if you sell an audiobook for $20 on Amazon, you’ll keep $8.
Marketing
Findaway offers several benefits to authors when it comes to marketing, including promo codes and a growing audience reach.
Promos
Findaway Voices isn’t the only distributor to offer promo codes as a marketing tool for your book, but their options are definitely convenient.
Authors get 30 giveaway codes for each title, or up to 100 if they’re enrolled in the hybrid royalty-splitting option, Voices Plus.
ACX offers 25 promo codes per title, but only if you’re exclusive with ACX.
One drawback to FV giveaway codes is that they’re only available through the Authors Direct app, while ACX codes are redeemable on Audible, which allows listeners to write a verified Audible review when they redeem the code.
With the Authors Direct app, listeners can still write a review on Apple, Audiobooks.com, Downpour, eStories, Kobo, Walmart, and Scribd, but they won’t be considered “verified.”
Reach
Not surprisingly, Amazon and Audible dominate a vast part of the audiobook market, which means focusing your efforts on ACX (exclusive or not) could be quite lucrative.
Still, unlike ACX, Findaway Voices helps authors get their books into libraries, which could bring in extra money you would otherwise miss out on.
And remember that the two options are not mutually exclusive: you can distribute your audiobook to Audible and Amazon via Findaway Voices, you’ll just get a lower royalty rate for being non-exclusive.
Reporting
Sales reporting on Findaway Voices is somewhat limited by each distribution partner’s protocol; they don’t control how each seller reports their earnings.
Nonetheless, Findaway does try to make it easy for authors to track their sales via their sales dashboard.
Narrators
Finding the right narrator is essential to your audiobook’s success. To help you find your ideal voice, Findaway Voices will ask you some questions about what you’re looking for in a narrator, then send you a curated list of potential matches. If you don’t like any of the selections, you can request a new list.
This is different from ACX, which allows authors to browse a catalog of narrators, or “producers,” who you’ll then approach to discuss a possible collaboration.
With both options, you can hear samples of the narrators’ past work, view their rates, and coordinate auditions.
Narration Costs
When it comes to paying for your audiobook production, Findaway Voices offers two options: royalty share and cost per finished hour.
With royalty share, authors can pay half of the upfront cost in exchange for giving the narrator 20% of their royalties for a period of 10 years. This means that you would get 60% royalties (don’t forget about the other 20% that goes to Findaway).
It’s important to note, however, that in order to take advantage of the royalty share option, you need to show narrators that they’ll be able to get back their investment.
Alternatively, you can pay based on the cost per finished hour, which depends on your narrator and your book. The longer your book, the higher the cost will be (as the narrator will have to spend more time recording).
Paying based on the cost per finished hour can vary greatly, but Findaway Voices offers the following example:
Manuscript word count: 53,000
Narrator’s cost per finished hour: $250
Author’s total estimated cost: $1,350–$1,650
In addition, Findaway Voices typically charges a $49 setup fee per book, but that fee can be waived if you sign up for Findaway via Draft2Digital.
Of course, you can also opt to narrate your own audiobook.
Does Findaway Voices Distribute to Audible?
Yes, Findaway Voices does distribute to Audible and Amazon. Just note that if you’re non-exclusive with ACX, you’ll get a lower royalty rate.
Can You Use Both Findaway Voices and ACX?
You can use both Findaway Voices and ACX as long as you’re not exclusive with ACX. For example, you might use ACX to find a narrator and produce your audiobook, then take your files to Findaway Voices and use them as your distributor.
Conversely, you might produce your audiobook through Findaway, then sign an exclusive contract with ACX and enjoy the 40% royalty rate selling only through Audible, Amazon, and iTunes.
Ultimately, the right choice for you will come down to how much control you want over pricing, distribution, and other factors.
Did you find this post helpful? Let us know in the comments below!
If you enjoyed this post, then you might also like:
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