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AUDIOBOOK BUSINESS Audiobook Narrator: Can A Rights Holder Buy Out Your ACX Royalty Share Or RS+ Contract?  Note: This article originally appeared in the Knowledge Base of NarratorsRoadmap.com. By Karen Commins Audiobook Narrator, Producer & Publisher Sometimes,
the rights holder (RH) of an audiobook created under an ACX (Audiobook Creation Exchange) Royalty Share (RS) or
Royalty Share Plus (RS+) contract will want to dissolve the contract after
the audiobook is on sale. In many cases, the sales have been better than
the RH expected, and they would like to receive all royalties rather
than split them with the narrator. In other situations, the RH wants to distribute their audiobook on
other platforms. With an RS or RS+ contract, they are locked into
Exclusive Distribution with Audible through the initial 7-year
distribution term.
The only way to break an RS/RS+ contract with the narrator is to pull
the book. The RH cannot take that action without the narrator's
consent. If an RH approaches you and asks you to dissolve the contract, be
aware that the decision rests completely with you. You have no
obligation to terminate the contract. Observe how you feel. What does your gut tell you to do - retain the
contract or release the RH from it? Listen to your intuition because it
will give you correct guidance. If you decide you are willing to terminate the contract, the RH
should buy out your share. Skilled negotiators ask the other side to go
first. I therefore would request the RH make me an offer of fair
compensation for the termination fee. Of course, my idea of "fair" and
theirs might differ! COMPUTE YOUR COMPENSATION I'd average the monthly royalties earned thus far for the audiobook,
and multiply those amounts by the number of months remaining in the
contract to estimate what I might expect to earn over the contract life.
Finally, if the author has earned some sort of bestselling designation (NY Times, USA Today,
etc.) and/or is prolific with more books coming out, I'd add an
arbitrary figure to compensate for the loss of the prestige of having
her books in my portfolio. Tally all of these figures together to determine a reasonable counter
offer. Know the minimum you would accept, because the RH would likely
try to negotiate you down. AND INFORM ACX You must use the ACX message system as the official record of your communications regarding changes to the project. This page on the ACX site
shows how to communicate with the RH. The video on that page only
concerns books still in production, but the process would be the same
for completed audiobooks that are for sale.
This ACX Help page lists
the steps for notifying ACX about contract dissolution for RS/RS+ books
that are for sale. The language indicates that Audible reserves the
right to say no to the request. Be sure that both you and the RH write to Info@ACX.com and outline your agreement about contract dissolution. ---------------------- ABOUT KAREN Karen Commins is an award-winning audiobook
narrator, producer, publisher, and leading curator of info about the audiobook
industry. She is a five-time audiobook juror for the Voice Arts Awards
competitions and has spoken about audiobook creation and marketing at VOAtlanta,
on ACX University, and on several podcasts. After years of helping narrators on their journeys through
her articles, videos, online advice, and private consultations, in 2019 Karen
launched NarratorsRoadmap.com. This site is THE destination for
narrators of all levels, with a knowledge base, videos, and an incredible
number of resource links. Email: karen@karencommins.com Web: www.KarenCommins.com |
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Thank you.
Best regards,
Michael P Cyll