You have your audiobook or audio course ready to go, but you're not sure where to distribute it now. How can you get the most money for your time and effort? Which platform will allow you, the creator to reap the benefits of your product? This article will compare the largest audio producer in the world, Audible ACX and compare it to the up and coming, Avocado Audio creation platform. By the end of the article you will know the pros and cons to each platform and be able to make an informed decision on which is right for you.
What is Audible ACX?
In short, Audible is the largest producer in the world of spoken word content, not just audiobooks, which most people know them for. Their largest following comes from the subscription model that provides access to titles for a better deal than the one-off fees. ACX, the self-publishing division of Audible, is where authors submit their audiobooks to sell on Audible, iTunes, and Amazon.
What is Avocado?
Assuming you’re not referring to the fruit, of course, Avocado Audio is an audio course platform for creators and businesses that empowers them to build and sell audio products on any topic.
What is the cost to use each platform?
Audible ACX
There are three price options for audiobook creation with Audible.
- Pay for production: This is a one-time payment based on the length of your finished audiobook. Working with an audiobook producer, you will get up to 40% royalties if you choose the Exclusive distribution plan, but choosing the Non-exclusive royalty plan (ability to sell your audiobook or course on another platform) will only allow you to earn up 25% of the sales. You will maintain full royalties and control over your audiobook’s distribution.
- Royalty Share & Royalty Share Plus: Give your producer an equal share in the lifetime royalty earnings for your audiobook. The benefit of this option is that you can get up to 20% of the royalties on your audiobook and pay nothing out of pocket.
- Do it Yourself: If you want to record and produce your own audio, this is the option for you. All you have to do is upload the audio files on ACX and they will distribute them! The benefits with this option include up to 40% of royalties on the sales if going the exclusive route, and 25% of royalties if choosing the non-exclusive royalty plan.
Avocado
There are five different plans for Avocado, depending on your needs. Each of the plans includes unlimited listens, unlimited audio, Web, iOS, and Android access. A breakdown of the plans is listed below.
- Intro: There is a free built-in starter plan that creators can use. There is no need to upgrade your plan initially until you have a firm foundation and would truly benefit from paying a monthly fee in order to avoid the transaction fee associated with each purchase. For the intro plan, there is a 30% transaction fee associated with each purchase.
- Basic: $49/month with a 5% transaction fee and coupon codes
- Pro: $99/month with a 0% transaction fee and coupon codes
- Premium: $299/month with a 0% transaction fee, bulk student imports, and coupon codes
- Enterprise: Prices vary depending on your needs, contact support for more information
Who sets the price on each platform?
Audible ACX sets the price for each audiobook, on the following price breakdown based on the length of the book.
- >1 hour: less than $7
- 1 - 3 hours: $7 - $10
- 3 - 5 hours: $10 - $20
- 5 - 10 hours: $15 - $25
- 10 - 20 hours: $20 - $30
- over 20 hours: $25 - $35
On Avocado, authors have 100% control of the price of the hard work. They can also choose to offer discounts on the audiobook or course whenever they want.
Are Marketing Campaigns Allowed?
Audible: There are a limited amount of free promo codes for audiobooks on the platform. They offer 50 promo codes for the United States and 50 for the United Kingdom audiences. Other than that, authors do not have the capability to create their own price promotions or discounts for their work.
Avocado: The ball is in your court with Avocado. As the creator of the course, you have complete control over how much your course costs, and whether you offer a discount or promo rate.
Can authors see stats on who buys their products?
Audible: The dashboard for Audible only provides the ability to see within a certain amount of time frame that a sale occurred.
Avocado: The platform provides the ability to view the number of purchases, as well as statistics around listening. Creators can see how many listens, down the specific lesson each one gets.
Which platform is the best for you?
This is a tough question. Audible is a well-established audio content platform that is known all around the world. As a creator though, there are a few cons to this that may help sway you against solely selling your product exclusively on their platform. For example, with a non-exclusive royalty, you will only earn up to 25% maximum, depending on which plan you choose. Also, if you choose the exclusive route, your course or book will only be sold on Audible, Amazon, and iTunes--you’re missing a big chunk of the market in doing so.
By using Avocado Audio, you set the price for what you think your course or book is worth it. In addition to this, depending on which plan you choose, you can earn up to 100% of the sales. There’s no saying you can’t use both, but you need to consider how much the money you earn from your royalties impacts your income. Do you rely on the money you earn from your audiobooks and courses or is it a side hobby? If you have a little bit more time and want to build your own market and audience, then using Avocado as your primary focus, with a non-exclusive plan with ACX could be the best option.
Comparison between the two platforms:
