Owned by Spotify, Findaway Voices is one of the primary audiobook distributors for self-publishing authors. Two weeks ago, Findaway notified users they were changing their terms of use, which raised an alarm with authors who saw a big rights grab. The most problematic terms appeared to grant Findaway a range of subsidiary rights, in addition to training rights. Due to the outpouring of criticism, Findaway backtracked the same day and changed the terms. Authors Guild has an excellent explanation of the revised terms, which currently meet their satisfaction.
However, some authors announced they had lost trust in Findaway (not least due to distrust in its owner, Spotify) and have still removed their books from Findaway distribution. Part of the distrust stems from an episode last year when authors discovered that Findaway’s distribution agreement grants Apple a license to use audiobook files for machine learning.
Still, Findaway’s terms of use are not particularly more objectionable than what you’d find in a comparable distribution agreement. Audible/ACX, owned by Amazon, is also deemed by some to be untrustworthy in its business practices due to the Audiblegate controversy in 2020. So what’s left? Some authors say they’re moving to Author’s Republic for distribution.
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.
