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Can my audiobook go in Kindle+? ACX, Royalty Share and Virtual Voice

A virtual-voice audiobook is in Kindle+ automatically when the matching ebook is in KDP Select. An ACX audiobook can be enrolled from the KDP Bookshelf only when four conditions are met: the ebook is in KDP Select, distribution is exclusive to Audible, Read and Listen is on, and the deal is Pay for Production. Listening is for US customers only.

Publishing Map's take

A virtual-voice audiobook is in Kindle+ when the ebook is in KDP Select. An ACX audiobook also needs exclusive Audible distribution, Read and Listen, and a Pay for Production deal.

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The short answer

  1. Virtual Voice follows the ebook. If the ebook is in KDP Select, the audiobook is included. You do not enroll it separately.[641]
  2. An ACX title needs the ebook in Select, exclusive Audible distribution, Read and Listen on, and a Pay-for-Production deal.[642]
  3. The enrollment page says non-royalty share payment models are not eligible at this time. Written Word Media reports that Royalty Share and Royalty Share Plus are not eligible at launch.[641][644]
  4. Enrolling an ACX audiobook does not add a further KDP exclusivity requirement. The ACX terms you already have stay in place.[641]
  5. The Kindle+ badge can take up to 24 hours. Audible royalties for an ACX title stay in the ACX account.[642][643]

01

What are the four ACX conditions?

KDP's eligibility table, checked 9 November 2026, says the ACX audiobook must have the matching ebook live and enrolled in KDP Select, exclusive Audible distribution, Read and Listen (Whispersync for Voice) enabled, and a Pay-for-Production deal. You can enroll from the KDP Bookshelf. You can enroll the ebook and the audiobook together, or the ebook only. You cannot enroll the audiobook without the ebook. Audiobooks in Kindle+ are for the US marketplace only at this time.[642]

  • If you edit the ebook so it no longer matches the audiobook, the audiobook becomes ineligible and the headphone badge is removed.
  • The badge can take up to 24 hours to appear.

02

Are Royalty Share and Royalty Share Plus included?

The eligibility table names Pay-for-Production as the production type that can enroll. The enrollment page says the audiobook must have a Pay for Production model, and that non-royalty share payment models are not eligible at this time. Written Word Media, dated 22 October 2026, reports that Royalty Share and Royalty Share Plus are not eligible at launch, and that Amazon said it is exploring how to expand eligibility. This page does not treat that report as a date or a promise. Do not re-record a finished audiobook only to chase Kindle+.[641][642][644][255]

  • The royalty-share terms page names Royalty Share Plus and does not print its split. This page does not invent one.

03

What happens to a Virtual Voice audiobook?

The enrollment page says that if the ebook is in KDP Select, the associated virtual-voice audiobook is also enrolled and is included in Kindle+ automatically. The ebook and that virtual-voice audiobook must remain exclusive through the rest of the current 90-day term. If you turn off automatic renewal of the ebook, the virtual-voice audiobook is removed from Kindle+ and from Audible Plus at the end of the term.[641]

  • An audiobook that is only on another distributor is not given an enrollment path on this page.

04

Does Kindle+ add exclusivity, and where are the royalties?

The enrollment page says enrolling an ACX audiobook in KDP Select will not add any additional KDP exclusivity requirements, and that the existing ACX distribution terms remain unchanged. Exclusive Audible distribution is still a condition of eligibility. ACX's distribution article describes that exclusive choice as seven years, during which you may not sell the audiobook outside Audible's channels. Kindle+ listening is paid from the KDP Select Global Fund and shows in KDP reports. Audible royalties for the ACX audiobook stay in the ACX account.[641][642][643][254]

  • The ebook, once enrolled, is still limited to KDP and public libraries for the 90-day term. That rule is separate from the ACX term.
  • ACX audiobooks are not eligible for public-library distribution through KDP Select at this time.

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