01
What choice does ACX say you have to make?
The blog's update dated May 26, 2026 says enrollment is available to all ACX creators from that day. Under the new model you can select exclusive distribution to Audible, Amazon, and Apple Books for a 50 percent royalty rate, or non-exclusive distribution for 30 percent. You can opt titles in so they are eligible for Audible's all-you-can-listen program, suggest a price, and see more detailed earnings statements. The discontinuation sentence is: 'By end of year, the legacy royalty model will be discontinued. By that time, you must either choose to enroll your titles in the new model or discontinue distribution if you prefer.' No day and month are printed next to 'end of year.' This page therefore does not treat 31 December 2026 as an ACX deadline. The steps on the blog are: log in at www.acx.com, open My Projects, and use Enroll titles for every title, for a selection, or for one title. A message center note names the titles and the effective date. The blog says this enrollment goes into effect on the 1st of the following month. DIY productions claimed after May 26, 2026 are enrolled automatically. For marketplace titles, which the blog lists as Pay for Production, Royalty Share, and Royalty Share Plus, the new model applies to offers sent to producers after May 26, 2026.[511]
- If a title is still on the legacy model, the blog's choice is enroll or discontinue distribution. It does not describe a third rate.
- Waiting past 'end of year' is not given a grace period on this page, because no grace period is stated.
02
How does ACX say the new payment is calculated?
The blog says royalties for membership offerings equal Member Value multiplied by the contractual royalty rate. Member Value is the price of the listener's monthly plan, for example Standard or Premium, minus taxes and fees. If the member uses additional credits that month, the value of that credit is added, and the total is divided among the titles the member engaged with, based on their a la carte price. Your share is then multiplied by your royalty rate. The FAQ on the same page says the model for non-member and member cash purchases will not change, and that the new model is only for membership offerings. It then states the higher cash-purchase rates in one parenthetical: exclusive distribution 50 percent versus 40 percent on the legacy model, and non-exclusive distribution 30 percent versus 25 percent on the legacy model. Suggested price is an amount you enter. The blog says Audible determines the title's price and reserves the right to adjust it at any time, and that the selling price may not match the suggestion, including a lower price during a sale or to match a third party. AYCL is an opt-in for titles on the new model, for the Premium plan. Audible curates which opted-in titles are included. A title that is not on the new model is not eligible. The Oct 16, 2026 results are ACX's own comparison of the same titles over equivalent periods: collectively over 26 percent more in total royalties in the first 1-2 months, 64 percent of creators earning more overall, and an average credit royalty per unit increased by ~20 percent. The page marks each of those lines as individual results vary. They are not a promise for a title that has not enrolled.[511]
- The 50 percent and 30 percent figures are rates on the new model. They are not a statement of what a finished hour of narration costs.
- A production quote from a narrator is a separate contract. If that quote asks you to pay before you hear the terms, use the offer checker.
03
What is already on the ACX cost page, and what did not load?
The ACX cost answer cites three help pages. The distribution page's note on this site records a seven-year term, exclusive distribution at 50 percent or the legacy 40 percent, and non-exclusive distribution at 30 percent or the legacy 25 percent. The royalty-share terms, version 3.1 dated 26 May 2026, record 25 percent to the rights holder and 25 percent to the producer on an exclusive royalty-share deal. The pay-for-production terms of the same date record 50 percent if distribution is exclusive and 30 percent if it is not. Those three help-page bodies did not load on 17 October 2026, so this answer does not re-quote them and does not add a new production price. The blog is the page that states the enrollment date, the 1st-of-the-month effective date, the end-of-year discontinuation, AYCL, and suggested price. Audiobook distribution outside ACX, including services that are not exclusive to Audible, Amazon, and Apple Books, is on the audiobook-distribution answer. A company that asks you to fund an audiobook package and calls itself the publisher is a different question. That question belongs on the offer checker, the vanity comparison, and the contract red-flag page.[254][255][256]
- Royalty share at 25 percent and 25 percent is the cost page's exclusive royalty-share split. It is not the blog's new 50 percent exclusive rate.
- If you need a non-ACX audio path, read the distribution answer before you enroll a title as exclusive.
04
If the title is still on the legacy model, what do you read first?
The blog's rule is the first row. The other rows are the neighboring decisions, including a paid publishing offer that is not an ACX setting. Nothing here ranks narrators or distributors.[511][254]
| If this is true | Read first |
|---|---|
| The audiobook is still on ACX's legacy royalty model. | ACX's blog: by end of year, enroll it or discontinue distribution. The date 31 December 2026 is not stated. |
| You want the new 50 percent rate. | The same page's exclusive option: Audible, Amazon, and Apple Books. Enrollment takes effect on the 1st of the next month. |
| You want to keep selling the audiobook outside those stores. | The non-exclusive 30 percent option on that page, then the audiobook-distribution answer. |
| You are comparing a royalty-share deal with a pay-for-production deal. | The ACX cost answer. Its 25 percent and 25 percent split is the royalty-share page, not this blog's new rate. |
| A company asks you to pay to publish the audiobook. | The offer checker, then the vanity comparison and the contract red-flag page. |
- Enroll only after you have read whether exclusive distribution stops you selling the same audiobook elsewhere. The blog's exclusive option is Audible, Amazon, and Apple Books.
- A fee charged by a publisher or a service company is not decided on the ACX blog. Start with the offer checker.
Use the guided answer
Apply this to your book
The guide preserves your exact choice in the URL, so you can return to it or send it to someone else.
Open the audio stage