Audible

Audible is an audiobook and podcast service company owned by Amazon. The service platform has a dual content model that allows for individual purchases and downloads as well as streaming content available through a monthly subscription.

Amazon, the parent company of Audible, in collaboration with Apple Books (which would otherwise be its biggest competitor), controls approximately 80% of the audiobook market.^[1][2] Audible itself is the world's leading retailer of audiobook purchases, with over 60% of domestic and global sales.^[1][3]

Audible uses the AAX file format, which was developed by Audible and is DRM-encrypted,^[4] making it so that only Audible-authorized players can play it.^[4][5] This creates an ecosystem lock-in^[1][2], forcing users to rely on third-party software to break the DRM to listen to the audiobooks they have purchased outside of the Audible platform ^[5], as evidenced by the multitude of converters that show up with a cursory "Audible AAX" search on any web browser.

Audible admits to restricting certain content based upon the geographic location of the user,^[6] a practice known as geo-blocking.

Audible has been accused of strong-arming authors into exclusivity deals^[1] by not only imposing higher distribution fees on non-exclusive distribution (75% in comparison to the 60% for exclusive distribution)^[1][2] but also penalizing those who opt for non-exclusivity with practices such as reduced visibility of their titles, lower search rankings, diminished promotional opportunities,^[1][2] and lower royalties (40% for exclusive deals, 25% for non-exclusive ones).^[2][7] For comparison, the actual cost of distributing the audiobooks is estimated to be around 5% to 10% of the sales price.^[1]

Main article: Audible subsidizes its streaming plan via premium credits

In August 2025, Audible's new royalty structure took effect. It works by spreading the reader's plan value and premium credits across all books the reader listened to during the month, regardless of whether or not the audiobook was purchased or streamed using Audible's streaming service.

Main article: Amazon sued for enrolling and charging customers into Audible without consent

Amazon, and Audible by extension, is currently facing a pending class-action lawsuit due to allegedly enrolling Amazon customers into Audible subscriptions without their permission. This is possible due to Amazon's forced retention of payment methods in which the company holds customers' card information for "faster checkout."

As of 2025, Audible is planning to integrate AI Narration and Translation solutions later in the year, starting with a roll-out of select publishers,^[8] which has been met with criticism by numerous writers, translators, and voice actors.^[9]