New distribution options through Findaway Voices may help indies cash in on audiobooks
As we’ve been writing this year—most recently in our last edition—the term audiobook sounds almost as good as Christmas to publishers these days, as the format leads all others in sales gains.
But in the indie sector, the cost of audiobook production can be high, and sales follow different patterns than lower-priced ebooks and print. When we looked at this in July, we found that nonfiction indie audio may be a better bet than fiction, but even there the requirement for high-quality narration and production is basically non-negotiable.
We’re interested, then, to see the audiobook distributor Findaway Voices announcing a deal with Storytel, to begin January 1. The Stockholm-based subscription service for audiobooks and ebooks has aggressively expanded this year; their 15 national markets include Sweden, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Finland, Russia, Poland, Spain, Iceland, India, Italy, Turkey, Bulgaria, the United Arab Emirates, and (as of November) Mexico. It’s anticipated that Singapore will be the next market to go live with Storytel. Prior to the Findaway deal, Storytel has offered self-published audio content from distributors including Vearsa (based in Ireland), Bookwire (Germany), and Zebralution (Germany).
What’s interesting about this opportunity is that it’s not about unit sales; rather, payments are made based on time spent listening. Lotten Skeppstedt, head of content at Storytel, confirms: “All subscription fees from each market go into the receipts pool of revenue and are included in Storytel’s net receipts. From that pool, Storytel will pay for the users’ consumption of audiobooks and ebooks based on time consumed, and we account for every listened minute.” In other words, the model is like pages read at Kindle Unlimited, or the Audible romance package. Storytel may give audiobooks by indies a better chance in the market, at least in terms of price point and discoverability. However, given romance authors’ bad experience with such payments in Audible (which we reported on in March), it’s logical to take a wait-and-see approach.
Attempting to gain more clarity on payment, we talked with Will Dages, Findaway Voices’ head of product and marketing, who tells us, “We can’t disclose the pool mechanics other than to say that more listening will equal more dollars for the author. Storytel doesn’t publish pool numbers publicly, and they pay out royalties quarterly. Findaway Voices authors will receive their royalties within 30 days of when Findaway Voices receives them. We’re excited to see the earning potential for authors at Storytel but don’t have any numbers or predictions to share. What I can say is that many of our best and most delightful surprises in terms of author royalty payouts have come from partners on the pool model.”
In February, Storytel will make available its 2018 earnings report, which should be interesting reading, considering the blistering pace of its international rollout this year. What we know from a company description (akin to a financial prospectus for investors) issued this month is that, by the new year, Storytel anticipates having close to 800,000 paying subscribers, up from 100,000 in 2014. Its workforce has grown from 30 then to more than 400 now. In her look at the company’s report earlier this month at Publishers Lunch (paywall), Sara Grace noted that the Storytel all-you-can-listen-to model for subscribers is much friendlier than Audible’s tight monthly listening limit.
But wait, there’s more from Findaway: a distribution deal with Apple iBooks where authors set the list price. This is already live, and Findaway Voices is set up as a preferred content partner with Apple, which means a 45 percent royalty rate for authors. Many authors—both those who have been getting 25 percent royalties on non-exclusive agreements and 40 percent under exclusivity constraints—will want to consider this new option. This blog post from Findaway offers five use-case scenarios to help you quickly assess whether this new offering may make sense for you.
Bottom line: These new options from Findaway Voices may offer indie audiobook publishers some of the discoverability they’ve been missing in audio. Storytel is audiobooks, primarily, and on conference panels this year from Berlin to Mexico City, the company’s reps have readily conceded that the rapidly expanding service needs content. And iBooks clearly sees value in its Findaway liaison, with its preferred-content-partner rates. Findaway Voices’ big intention here: to break the allure of exclusivity by offering their own premium opportunities. The just-announced Findaway Voices Plus program offers “piracy protection,” extra comp giveaways, audio quality assurance, and “marketing and promotional campaigns” (let’s see what they are). Findaway Voices is trying to leverage its two new partners to make itself a player.
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.
