On the heels of a major change to its ebook returns policy, Amazon has modified its policy for audiobook returns in Audible. Starting on Oct. 17, only titles purchased using Audible credits will be eligible for return within 365 days. Titles purchased with a debit or credit card will not be returnable.
Audible and its subsidiary, ACX, have been under increased pressure lately from the author community, who believe it is not being fair, reasonable, or transparent in its returns reporting and royalty payments. We last covered the issue, known as Audiblegate, in November 2020. Whether this latest change to Audible’s returns policy will have a noticeable effect on authors’ royalties remains to be seen and will depend on how many returns are made outside of the credit system. Of course, Audible has never made such information available.
Jane Friedman has spent her entire career working in the publishing industry, with a focus on business reporting and author education. Established in 2015, her newsletter The Bottom Line provides nuanced market intelligence to thousands of authors and industry professionals; in 2023, she was named Publishing Commentator of the Year by Digital Book World.
Jane’s expertise regularly features in major media outlets such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, NPR, The Today Show, Wired, The Guardian, Fox News, and BBC. Her book, The Business of Being a Writer, Second Edition (The University of Chicago Press), is used as a classroom text by many writing and publishing degree programs. She reaches thousands through speaking engagements and workshops at diverse venues worldwide, including NYU’s Advanced Publishing Institute, Frankfurt Book Fair, and numerous MFA programs.
