We are Libro.fm, an audiobook platform that makes it possible for you to buy audiobooks directly through your local bookshops. We are fiercely independent and we care deeply about supporting small businesses—especially bookshops. This is why we oppose Amazon’s efforts to prevent independent bookshops and libraries from providing certain audiobooks, called Audible Exclusives.
One frequently-asked question we get from Libro.fm readers is why certain audiobooks aren’t available on our platform. While Libro.fm has a catalog of over 750,000 audiobooks—and more than 99% of all The New York Times bestsellers—some titles are unavailable due to exclusive licenses granted to Amazon’s Audible. Libraries are restricted from lending these audiobooks, too.
What does Audible Exclusive or Audible Original mean?
The “only from Audible” bands on book covers facilitate a feeling of access to premium content for Audible members. But for the rest of the book world, it’s an access barrier.
It means that the audiobook in question can only be sold through Amazon’s Audible. No other retailers or providers can sell or distribute the digital audiobook, including bookshops and libraries.
Books should be equally accessible to all. Audible Exclusive audiobooks—also known as Audible Originals—are the antithesis of that principle.
How does an audiobook become an Audible Exclusive?
This is going to get a little technical, but stick with us. It begins with the Audiobook Creation Exchange (ACX), a marketplace launched by Audible in 2011 that connects narrators, authors, agents, publishers, and rights-holders to create audiobooks. The decision to make an audiobook an Audible Exclusive is made by authors, publishers, and agents—it depends on who is granted the audio rights to a book.
Why do these parties choose this option? ACX promises higher royalties to creators (i.e. more money from audiobook sales) if they opt for Exclusive distribution. If a creator wants to distribute their audiobook to other audiobook platforms or libraries, they will earn 15% to 20% less of retail sales from ACX. The ACX system rewards exclusivity, so it’s easy to see why authors and publishers spring for this opportunity—but even then, there has been speculation that Exclusive creators are being paid less than the promised royalties.
Within the ACX world, Audible Studios is the production arm of Audible. They pay authors like Mark Manson (Love Is Not Enough), Margaret Atwood (The Handmaid’s Tale), and Alice Walker (The Color Purple) giant sums to keep their audiobooks exclusive to Audible, and prevent bookshops and libraries from selling and distributing them.
What does this mean for audiobook distribution?
As described in a viral video by the Columbus Metropolitan Library, libraries cannot distribute audiobooks that are Audible Exclusives. That’s also the case for bookshops, schools, and anyone who isn’t affiliated with Amazon. This means Libro.fm can’t sell Audible Exclusive audiobooks, which means our 5,000+ bookstore partners can’t sell them, either.
Audible Exclusives also work in direct opposition to a basic principle of libraries—free access to books. By limiting distribution, Amazon aids in making books, perspectives, and information inaccessible to many communities and users.
To reiterate: There are audiobooks being published that bookshops cannot sell, and libraries cannot lend.
This hurts bookshops because they are consistently missing out on sales for big releases. When they aren’t able to sell audiobooks that are in high demand, potential customers will opt for Audible over their local bookshop. This, of course, only continues to increase Audible’s (and ultimately Amazon’s) power and influence within the publishing industry, which results in more Exclusive deals and increasingly restricted access to audiobooks for the rest of the market. Because audiobooks are a digital product, they’re inherently easier for Amazon to monopolize.
Audiobooks are also a vital means of access for some readers with disabilities:
How else does Audible bar audiobook access?
But Audible doesn’t only limit access through Exclusives. Audible pays some publishers to embargo new non-Exclusive audiobook releases for 90 days. This means that for the first three months of sales, the audiobook can only be found on Audible.
Also, Audible doesn’t allow Libro.fm to make certain audiobooks redeemable with membership credits. This means that bookshop customers who are Libro.fm members would need to buy books like Elena Ferrante’s The Neapolitan Novels separately, despite already paying a membership fee.
By rewarding Exclusive distribution, striking Exclusive deals with influential authors, and paying publishers to delay the distribution of new releases, Audible’s creeping monopoly pushes independent bookstores and libraries out of the audiobook industry.
I’m an author. How do I prevent Amazon’s Audible from shutting out independent bookshops and libraries?
First, understand the contract with your publisher. If your publisher is producing the audiobook, add language into your agreement that requires the audiobook is available to independent bookshops and libraries. Alternatively, if your publisher is planning to contract or license the audiobook version, ensure that they put language in their licensing agreement that prevents the audiobook publisher from selling your title exclusively to Amazon’s Audible. If your audiobook is currently Exclusive, you might be able to change the distribution rights after a year depending on the payment option you have chosen. Learn more here.
Looking to learn more about offering your audiobook through Libro.fm? Read our Author Guide. And if you’re a self published author looking to produce an audiobook, we have more resources for how you can do so without Audible.
How can we work together to make change?
1. Make the switch.
When you choose Libro.fm over Audible, you support our 5,000+ bookshop partners, invest in your local community, and get audiobook recommendations from real booksellers—not an algorithm, not AI.
By spending money with intention, we can collectively work to not let audiobooks become another form of privatized entertainment controlled by a single entity. We are also proud to be DRM-free. This means you actually get the audiobook files, whether you have an active membership or not. You can listen wherever, whenever.
The more people we move away from their platform, the more power we take away from a singular provider in the industry.
2. Educate yourself about Audible Exclusives.
Learning about Amazon and Audible alternatives can help you better advocate for yourself and independent bookshops. This is especially true for authors—even more so those who self-publish.
We recommend Author’s Republic as the ACX alternative. Audiobooks will be available on Libro.fm, through libraries, and wherever audiobooks are sold or distributed. Publishers can also produce their own audiobooks and distribute to Libro.fm via companies like Zebralution.
3. Spread the word.
If you’re a member, tell your friends, family, colleagues, and everyone you know about Libro.fm. Plus, if they start a new membership using your referral code, you’ll get a free audiobook. You, your bookstore, and your friend all benefit.
We also offer bulk audiobook purchases for organizations through our Libro.fm for Business program.
Even if you don’t make an account with Libro.fm, it’s important that people are informed and aware of the harmful tactics that Amazon’s Audible uses to control the audiobook market. And with bookshops around the globe increasingly facing economic challenges, it takes all of us to keep these vital spaces open.
Want to read more?
- 7 Ways to Resist Amazon from Raven Book Store’s Danny Caine
- “The Problem with Exclusives”: Brilliant Books in Traverse City, MI
- A testimonial: “Audible Exclusives limit disabled audiobook fans like me.”
- “Why Isn’t an Audiobook Available on Libro.fm and What Can I Do About It?“
- “US Publishers, Authors, Booksellers Call Out Amazon’s ‘Concentrated Power’ in the Market”
- “We Need to Talk About Audible” by Cory Doctorow
- “[American Booksellers Association] Releases Report Detailing Amazon’s Anti-competitive Behavior”
- Your Guide to Independent Alternatives for Books, Audiobooks, eBooks, and Beyond
Have more questions about Audible Exclusives? Want more action items toward encouraging fair access to audiobooks? Reach out to us at hello@libro.fm, and a real, audiobook-loving human will get back to you.